I didn’t have to.
For the first time in 40 years I didn’t have to go to church.
For 40 years it has been a requirement. It was my job! I HAD to be there.
But today?
Two weeks ago I retired. Suddenly there isn’t a requirement to be there. In fact, on the day of my retirement, my friend David Woody, in his morning prayer asked God to grace me with the ability to NOT go to church for a couple weeks.
Well, God did that for the first week. I was busy trying to get the house ready for the movers, but this morning?
Well, sorry God, but you didn’t pull it off!
I didn’t have to, but I had to!
Being in worship is a part of who I am. It is how I tell time. For the pasty couple weeks I have turned to Anita numerous times and asked, “What day is it?” It is as if my body regulates itself to worship .
Even more, I had to go, not our of some sense of duty, but because, well, I need to worship. I remember sitting in a staff meeting in Greenville, SC once when we had the privilege of having Dr. Theron Price with us, sharing his wisdom. Dr. Price was one of the people who was always so honest with me whenever I preached—both good and bad, whose opinion I deeply valued.
At some point in that time I asked him, “Dr. Price, what do you expect when you come to worship?”
He looked at me as if I didn’t know anything about him, or church! “I will never forget his answer. “I don’t expect anything! Worship isn’t something I do for me. Worship is something I do for God.”
So this morning, I reset my internal clock. I got up, had breakfast and went to church. It was something I needed. Even more, it was something I needed to do for God.