“Even a sparrow finds a home, and a swallow, a nest for herself where she places her young — near your altars, Lord of Armies, my King and my God.” (v. 3)

We find ourselves generally ready to jibe with Psalm 85: How lovely is the LORD’s house, and how happy are the people who worship Him there! Joy and hope and strength and favor—all gifts of His grace—are found there.

I, too, would trade a thousand days of anything else for one day of genuine worship in His presence.

Which is why we ought to organize our churches around stellar kids’ programming, contemporary comforts, and a host of amenities and preferences, right? We ought to get the messiness of kid-noise and the strain of parenting out of the picture if we expect others to want to worship. Otherwise they’ll just prefer another Sunday off.

(I am, of course, joking.)

The picture the Psalmist gives us isn’t one where families drop their kids off in a program classroom. It’s not a model of easy, catered worship. The Psalmist, in telling us of the joys of God’s “house,” says (in effect), Bring your kids close in and close up. Worship with them. Don’t worry about the noise or the inconvenience—and don’t worry about whether you’re strong enough to parent them through a few more hours—because here, in the house of worship, you will know His strength.

Let’s rediscover the joy of worship together, and let’s—like the Psalmist’s sparrows and swallows—lead our whole families to Him.

— Tyler