the other place with pews...

Yesterday I discovered the other place where people sit in pews and have a sense of awe and are drawn to prayer....the courtroom.  There seemed to be several parallels between church and the courtroom.  People were, for the most part, dressed in their Sunday best.  There was a central aisle and a focal point in front...not an altar but an imposing desk, behind a rail.  There was a solemnity in the air before proceedings began and there was a sense of anticipation and concern as folks waited their turn to face the judge.  It was certainly an atmosphere that was conducive to prayer because no one could know how the judge would rule.  It was traffic court and I was there to face a charge of reckless driving because my car had swerved off the road last month when I accelerated through a turn and I went through a fence and ended up next to a gas station (no one hurt thankfully).  My friend, and attorney, Tex and my wife, Shirley, accompanied me and when the judge called my name I joined Tex right in front of the judge, with the state trooper present who had written the citation.  Thankfully the judge listened to all the facts and reduced the charge and I gratefully paid the fine and left the tension of the court.  Those few minutes of waiting in the pew were some of the sincerest moments of worship I have had outside of church.  I suppose it was a good reminder that we do have a Judge and He is to be worshiped.  I am glad that, like Tex, I have a good advocate in Jesus because if I had to face the Judge when He called my name without the Savior by my side...there would be an altogether different outcome!

Revelation 20:¹² And I saw the dead, small and great, standing before God, and books were opened. And another book was opened, which is the Book of Life. And the dead were judged according to their works, by the things which were written in the books.