I went to a George W. Bush rally last week, just a few days before the election. Tens of thousands of people gathered outside cheering, waving signs, wearing buttons. Secret Service men were everywhere talking into their ear pieces, scanning the crowd. There was an energy in the air as Bush spoke, but more than that, there was hope.
After the rally, crowds gathered waiting to get a glimpse, a hand shake, a photo of the big “W.” I was one of the groupies. I stood there for 45 minutes hoping he’d come by. Snipers stood on the roof of an adjacent building while local police patrolled the area. We waited patiently until he snuck out the back door in a black Suburban, waving through a half-open window. A dejected crowd walked away, dragging their Bush/Cheney signs.
As I stood amidst the throng of people, I realized this praise and adoration was for one man, who they hoped, possibly prayed, would be the next president of the United States. (And as I write this, we still don’t know who won.) I don’t know what one man can do for our country, but I know he can’t save our souls.
So I was thinking, how many rallies do we hold for Jesus? Here is a God who became a man to save us from our sins. But how often do we put on a “Jesus Christ Saves” button? Do we have signs in our yard that say “Vote God, Jesus & Holy Spirit as Lord of Your Life?”
Now, I might be going off the deep end. But at Bush’s rally I felt like I was a love-struck rock star fan waiting for the lead singer to give me his autograph. We give praise and adoration to singers, athletes, Hollywood stars and politicians. Where’s the praise for God?
Looking through Psalms, I see how King David praised God in all circumstances, good or bad. “Praise be to the Lord” is said numerous times. He cried out to God, he thanked God, but mostly he pursued God, seeking the safe haven of his loving arms. David experienced daily the power, love and grace of our Savior. And God wants us to follow that same path of praise into his warm embrace.
Sure I was bummed I didn’t get to shake Bush’s hand, but it’s not the end of the world. Thankfully, my salvation doesn’t hinge on anybody’s ability to run the country.
It’s fun to have heroes, but they’re just people, just like the rest of us. Our best praise should be reserved for the only God who cared enough to save us.
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Copyright © 2000 by the author or Christianity Today International/Campus Life magazine.
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Version in sermon:
From a Campus Life magazine article by “Autumn”:
She went to a George W. Bush rally just a few days before the end of the 2000 election. Tens of thousands of people gathered outside cheering, waving signs, wearing buttons. Secret Service men were everywhere talking into their earpieces, scanning the crowd. There was an energy in the air as Bush spoke.
After the rally, crowds gathered waiting to get a glimpse, a handshake, a photo of the big “W.” Autumn was one of the groupies. She stood there for 45 minutes hoping he’d come by. They waited patiently until he sneaked out the back door in a black Suburban, waving through a half-open window. A dejected crowd walked away, dragging their Bush/Cheney signs.
As Autumn stood amidst the throng of people, she realized this praise and adoration was for one man, who they hoped, possibly prayed, would be the next president of the United States. She didn’t know what one man can do for our country, but Autumn knew he couldn’t save their souls.
So she began thinking, how many rallies do we hold for Jesus? Here is a God who became a man to save us from our sins. But how often do we put on a “Jesus Christ Saves” button? Do we have signs in our yard that say “Vote God, Jesus, and Holy Spirit as Lord of Your Life”? We give praise and adoration to singers, athletes, Hollywood stars and politicians. Where’s the praise for God?
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[Original illustration at this number was a duplicate of HolwickID #13476]