When I was growing up, my Dad didn't come to church with us. My Mom would take my sister and brother and I every Sunday. I didn't understand why he didn't go until the year I turned 14. We had moved to another state and were attending a church there. Mom found a prayer group to attend. I don't know how or when my Dad decided to go with her, but once he started going, an amazing change took place. My Dad could get excited about things in life, but after going to the prayer group, he became ALIVE inside. It was almost like a switch was flipped! He lived before, but he was ALIVE after.
You see, Dad had grown up going to church every time "the doors were open." He said that he'd "been saved" many times. This time, however, was different. His relationship with Jesus became real, it became personal to him. He saw things differently. He tried to live differently. And...he started going to church with us.
You might think that's a good thing...but my Dad was so excited, he wanted to get to church early and sit in the FRONT ROW. When you are 14...you DO NOT want to sit in the front row at church or anywhere else that isn't at a concert for your favorite band. Not only that, but my Dad was so excited, he wanted to visit other churches, too, and sit in their FRONT ROWS. While I was doing my best to blend into the pew cushions, my Dad was raising his hand for the "Is there anyone here for the first time?" question. There was no hiding.
The best part of that year was when my Dad and Mom shared their faith with me. It seemed like so much more than just going to church. I knew about Jesus, about God, about church, but only "about." My Dad and my Mom prayed with me when I asked Jesus into my heart and gave Him my life. The Jesus I had prayed to before but didn't really know, became real to me. I became ALIVE, too! And not just FRONT ROW alive, but IN FRONT OF OTHERS alive!
I was learning to play the guitar and the church had a group that would play the songs at church. You guessed it...I joined! When we moved to another state, I joined the guitar group at that church and, then, joined a youth choir at another church! And it didn't stop there. I had always been a third or fourth row person in life. I wanted to be close enough to see what was going on, but far enough back not to get "called on" to join in. But all that was changed now that I was a FRONT ROW person. When opportunities would come my way to join in that would really be out of my comfort zone, I would do it anyway, just to experience it. It was an amazing time in my life.
Over the years, I have "switched seats" many times from FRONT ROW, to MIDDLE ROW, and, sometimes, even the BACK ROW depending on where I was in life. In the past few years, though, I have really made an effort to stay in the FRONT ROW. I don't want life to pass me by. I want to be ALIVE. It might be uncomfortable, sometimes, to choose the FRONT ROW, but I know that is where I want to be.
How about you? Are you living in the third, fourth or even back row of your own life? Get up and switch seats! Move to the FRONT ROW! You won't believe what you've been missing!
