That’s My Seat

That’s My Seat

I love remembering times at church from when I was young. My earliest recollections, although sparse, are from when I was about three. My father was the preacher, so I was always in the midst of everything. He would let me sing in front of the church and I would pretend I was directing singing. Maybe I was.

Like a vivid dream, the remembrances come upon me to the point of almost being real. I long for those feelings of that time.  Our lives were so simple. Church was so simple. We were there. We had no alternative means of worship. People would mingle and talk for such a long time after church, genuinely enjoying the company of their fellow brothers and sisters. No rush for the restaurant or the television. And many Sundays the preacher was invited to someone’s house for lunch (I always enjoyed that).

I love remembering how people had their own seat. Thiswas a lifelong claim, not to be given up. Not for even one Sunday. Some things never change, we all know who belongs in those seats and we all respect their ‘territory’. We also know the emptiness when one of those seats become vacant. A part of all of us is taken away when a member of our church family is no longer there.

I love remembering the worship. The corporate worship with no agendas. I can hear the passionate sermons of my dad. The crescendos of the word, leading to the pulpit receiving a good pounding. He was not afraid of the Gospel, and all who heard him knew it; and when one received the call of the Gospel, it was a joyous moment for all.

I love remembering those times. I hope that we can preserve some of those times in our worship today. We are being pulled by so many forces that would take us away from what is true and from what should be forever unchanging. Lord, help us to resist the ever-increasing attack on our freedom to worship You in spirit and in truth.

Always love remembering the places in your heart that give you peace and comfort.

Charles Crider © 2021

Soli Deo Gloria