I went to Church yesterday. No one else did, just me.

I am a Christian and I am an American and my right to worship as I choose is enshrined forever in the United States Constitution as an inalienable right, so after a month of online nonsense and failure to connect with anyone else who was willing to step out and defy the Governors unconstitutional decree, I decided to do it myself.

I got up and put on church clothes and drove my truck to the church. While I drove I listened to several songs from my music library set to random play the Bishops sang the classic “When Jesus is all That I Have He is All That I Need” which seemed appropriate than it chose the powerful Kingsmen song “God Saw A Cross” (I have a version from YouTube that features the late Ernie Phillips on tenor) and I found myself singing along with the bass line and just as I pulled into the parking lot the phone died and I finished the last note of the song alone. God was speaking to my heart. I had the best parking space in the lot so I walked up to the concrete barrier around the drop-off area and sat down.  It was a beautiful morning warm sun, nice breeze, and I opened my lonely service in prayer. “Praying for those who persecute you and despitefully use you” is one of the Lord’s more difficult commands, I have tried consistently to do so, praying for those in our government who seek to fundamentally change our nation into something it was not meant to be, those who subtly and now blatantly infringe upon our rights and freedoms, but emotionally I don’t always feel it. Something about being at the house of God made it easier to pray those prayers with a fervent faith and the tender reminder that the cross God saw through the ages was for their redemption and a symbol that God truly is not willing that any be lost. I prayed for absent brothers and sisters as we always do, prayed that they would know God’s presence and that His Holy Spirit guide each into His perfect will.

Then I opened the Bible and read 1 Samuel chap 3 and the story of God first speaking to young Samuel and God’s promised judgement on the house of Eli. No reason for the selection other than it is where my personal study was anyway. It is a cautionary tale to be sure to a generation that holds the things of God so loosely.

After I finished some members came by to take care of some business at the parsonage and we had some fellowship time discussing the state of affairs and perhaps I am not as alone in my opinions as I feared, just the only one silly enough to sit in an empty parking lot and have Church by himself.

I don’t think I made any difference to anyone but myself, our church parking lot doesn’t even face the road so the many folks who drove by going hither and yon on more essential errands than going to church, didn’t see me, but it made a difference to me, I went to God’s house and He meant me there. The God who is with me always manifested His presence in a fresh and renewing way. I only regret I was there alone to experience His goodness.

I will go back next week, rather our dread sovereign Jim Justice says we can or not. I will go alone, or with others whose hearts are moved to do the same. I will go until the Church is reopened or until the elders ask me to leave in which case I will go elsewhere. There are after all plenty of empty churches to choose from.