While driving down a busy street in the City of Long Beach, California, I happened to glance over at a pile of rubbish lying in front of a building that was being remodeled.
Normally, I would pay little attention to a heap of broken glass, crumbled plaster and splintered wood. But there, among the rubble was something that arrested my attention. It was an old Church pew, broken and covered in dust.
Waiting for the traffic signal to change, I began to wonder about the history of that humble piece of Church furniture. It was apparent from its appearance, it was homemade which led me to believe, it probably came from a small Church somewhere in the neighborhood.
As the light changed, I started on my way, but in my imagination I could see a small Baptist or Pentecostal Church filled with working people, singing and praising God on a Sunday night. Some of those jubilant worshippers were sitting on the old pew joyously singing, “Some glad morning when this life is o’er, I’ll fly away to a home on God’s Celestial Shore, I’ll fly away.”
For a moment, I was transported back in time to that inner-city Church and joined them, clapping my hands and singing “When I die, Hallelujah, by and by, I’ll fly away.” A sense of joy and satisfaction filled my heart and mind at that moment, as I thought about being in the Presence of God.
Bringing my thoughts back to the moment, I thought how that old pew was more than just a place to sit. For some in the crowd it was an altar of prayer. They would turn and kneel, bracing their head against the back of the pew as they called on God.
I could only wonder, how many times it had been stained with the tears of a repentant heart, or was that special place where a Godly mother prayed for a wayward son or a struggling daughter?
Who knows, maybe while kneeling at that old pew, a young man felt the call to full time ministry, or a young woman to missionary service half a world away. If the old pew could only speak, there would be many stories that would tug at the heartstrings and bring tears to the eye.
Now, lying silently among cast-offs and rubbish, it was hard to imagine how it was once that place where God’s Grace and Power was extended to a needy soul or the comfort of the Holy Spirit filled a broken heart.
Looking at the now, deeply scratched, dirty and broken pew, I imagined it being a very important part of countless Sunday morning, and Sunday evening services, as well as dozens of revival and prayer meetings. In my mind’s eye, I could see it polished and ready for Easter Sunday, Christmas Eve or a New Year’s Watch Night Service.
Never once, could anyone have believed the old pew would come to such an ignominious end, buried in a heap of trash near a busy city street. Never, could they have envisioned it being unwanted and unneeded.
Alone in my thoughts, I quietly wished the old pew could be restored to its former place in the House of God, but the sound of the trash truck coming down the street to pick it up and take it away, told me that was not to be.
Continuing on through rush hour traffic and leaving the old pew behind, I thought, how countless pews in the House of God have been discarded. They sit silently empty, neglected by people who once found comfort and security in them as they worshipped.
No, they haven’t been placed on a trash heap waiting to be recycled or destroyed, but they sit empty, unneeded, because people have deemed the Church not to be that essential. It kept running through my mind, how, if there is not a renewed commitment to Christ and His Church, those pews will someday meet the fate of that old discarded pew. They too, will be found on a heap of rubble, waiting to be taken away. The thought crushed my spirit, filled my heart with sadness and brought tears to my eyes.
May we hear and obey the Word of God that tells us, “Not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as the manner of some is; but exhorting one another: and so much more, as ye see the day approaching.” (Hebrews 10:25)
Next Lord’s Day, I will remember, that old dust covered pew, lying silently on Atlantic Avenue, and be reminded how God is depending on each of us to keep the Church vibrantly alive.
May we remember, “Tis a glorious Church without spot or wrinkle, Washed in the Blood of the Lamb,” and we are blessed to be a part of it! I encourage you, to fill your place in the House of God, lest your pew become unneeded and discarded.
The Shepherd's Staff 