For all of you American Idol fans, did you the see the expression on everyone’s face when Chris was voted off the show last night? Chris was stunned, Paula and Simon were stunned, my jaw dropped, and I’m sure millions of viewers couldn’t believe that Chris got voted off. And so I went to bed sad, depressed, and a little (make that a lot) disappointed. I had so many dreams for Chris, and I’m sure he had the same…
Then this morning I was putting away some dishes, and I thought of something. Think of how many people will have the same reaction when the day of judgement comes, and they will be told that they cannot enter the kingdom of heaven. (not that God votes people out, but try to follow me here.) There are billions of people who think they have the golden ticket, that they will be prancing into heaven when that day comes.
People who go to church, who “do good things”, and people who aren’t murderers. People who live moral lives, and always try to help when they can. People who are old, and people who are young. People who are rich, and people who are poor. People who are religious…
And when that day comes, God will ask the questions that are of utmost importance. Have you loved me? Have you followed me? Have you given up your life for me, and accpeted my son as the savior of the world?
There will be a lot of people denied access to the place of eternal happiness. And God will be sad, because He had dreams for those people. Dreams of a wonderful life, but they chose other roads. They chose to live for themselves, and not for God. When they step foot before Him, and assume they will be let in, they won’t. And jaws will drop, and people will be stunnted.
A lot of people will be shell shocked that day…
Brothers, I do not consider that I have made it my own. But one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus. (Philippians 3:13-14, ESV)
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I hope God is not Paula Abdul
I’m on a life long quest to learn more about God. It’s cool to flip the tables and ponder how would God feel or think during the judgement. Although it would be impossible to comprehend who God is fully. In this analogy I wonder if God would also have hurt feelings of not being accepted. Maybe expatriated feelings like “how many ways did I try to get your attention”? Or maybe judgmental feelings like “YOU FOOL”.
Can you imagine the LOVE and excitement when the moment comes and you can answer God by saying, “Your Son’s death on the cross paid for my sins and I chose to live His life example best I could”. And God says “Well done”. I would imagine it would feel like you’ve just won the “Best Of” American Idols. I wonder what that moment will be like. Will we be worshiping God or will we be dancing in the streets of gold? Will we be giving Paul & Peter a high fives and pumping our fist like we just scored a touchdown? Sometime the unknown is so cool.
As far as AI goes I had a feeling Chris was going to go this week. I thought it was Elliott’s time to go going into the week but he sang a performance of a lifetime. Chris was only so/so. There sure was disappointment on everyone’s face when the results were read. I think it’s a good life lesson that we have to bring it every time! In front of our children, at work, in our relationship with our wives… live life to its fullest capacity because going at it 50% gets you voted out.
Brian, great words, great thoughts. Good job at bringing things back into proper or a Godly perspective.
From a separate e-mail with BL, and with his “encouragement” (or was it peer-pressure, HA!), I’m posting my “first-ever” website comment:
Yeah, I agree that Elliott was the best this week (and probably one of the most improved overall) and that he deserved to get to the final 3. However, Kat screwed up her words, is showing a lack of confidence and didn’t do well this week at all. I think she should have been the one to go home this week. I’m just wondering if her fans are keeping her around for “eye candy”. Still, I don’t think Chris deserved to go home this week. He was better than she was.
As far as the “Shell-Shocked” piece and your (BL’s) comment. . .WOW ! It hits ‘right here’ and really puts things back into perspective.
You know, after I watched the show last night (after I got home from New Comm), I was shocked, disappointed, etc. And then I was thinking, “it’s JUST a tv show, what’s the big deal.”
The problem is, that even though it IS a tv show, it’s actual people’s lives that are being affected by the outcome. It’s not just ‘pretend’.
But then, in the BIG picture of things (with Life and God and Heaven and Eternity), a tv show (any show, real or not real) is so NOT important. It really makes you think and ask yourself. . .really, what do I want to be most important?!
Wow…things that make you go “hhmmmm”.
The whole AI thing and this conversation is making me remember a message John Ortberg gave entitled “It all Goes Back in the Box.” John basically said he learned a life lesson while playing Monopoly with his Grandma one summer. After he learned to “play the game” and he beat her, took all of her money, hotels, etc, she made this comment as he was gloating:
“Now John, it all goes back in the box. All of the money, all of the houses and hotels. None of it was really yours. Players will come and players will go. Everything in life will one day go back in the box…”
John goes on to talk about people like Marilyn Monroe and Howard Hughes. How they thought they had the world, and everything in it. It all went back in the box for them too. It really makes you ask yourself what is worth giving your life to. The world? Or God.
Chiming right in, I think BL hit the point dead on. One of the areas I struggle with is “bringing it” everyday. Some days are better than others. God’s answer to me is to keep fighting Satan and keep my heart open to him(to God). By being involved more at my church, It allows me to remind God how he is the Love of my life and he seems to then take captive of my mind when I need him the most. My family’s actions leverage off of my actions with God. That’s the most difficult part for me. Although everyday is a struggle, the real Truth is everyday I grow closer to God by thinking this way, because God causes me to act, whether I want to or not. I’m the last one to give advice, but in a weird way it sure feels good when some of my accountability guys need me! Thanks for the link BG. Great (therapy) I mean great site! Later~