Does God only exist in certain places at certain times? Do holier people have more access to God than say your common everyday Joe?
I grew up during a time in which the secular was pinned up AGAINST the spiritual. God was not at the bars, he was at the church. God didn’t approve secular music, he approved Christian music. God was not at the kegger, he was at the Bible study. This was a conviction which was heavily impressed upon me. I was encourage to buy Christian books, Christian clothes, Christian music cd’s and pay lots of money to go to Christian concerts. Many leaders didn’t drink beer for fear of being called a hypocrite and ruing their “witness”. Instead of drinking responsibly, they fled the thought of thinking altogether. Instead of enjoying the world which God created/creates, we were prompted to focus on heaven and spreading the message so that others could one day go to heaven. The message was that this world is tainted and that God will one day do away with it and give us a blissful spiritual existence. So which one is it? Does God love the world and interact in it or is the world a godless place where we suffer until we die?
Parts of that message were true but other parts were horribly misguided. There isn’t enough room on this blog to go into the inner workings of this escape/evacuation/exclusive message but I believe it to be false. I’m interested in a message which is a bit more integrated then that. Aren’t you? A theology which marries heaven and earth the way that the Bible does. Revelation 21:2 saw the Holy City, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride beautifully dressed for her husband.
God uses ordinary people and places to accomplish the extraordinary. God appeared to Moses in the form of a burning bush. Burning bushes were very common and most people would walk right past them but some say that Moses stared at the bush for a few moments and that was when God appeared. Moses, somehow understood that God could be found in the ordinary. This is conjecture but there are many other examples of God being among the ordinary or even the insignificant. In fact most of the Bible was written by people who were in horrible circumstances such as prison, and/or exile from their homeland. Jesus was known for eating with sinners. Not just regular sinners but “notorious” sinners. People didn’t expect God to be among the sinners but apparently Jesus didn’t get the memo? I recently had an experience that illustrates for me the power of Gods presence in any situation.
My favorite football team, the New Orleans Saints, went to and won their first ever Super Bowl a couple months ago. I couldn’t miss this once in a lifetime experiences to see the Saints win it all and so I went to New Orleans to be apart of the madness? Yes, I made the trip. I couldn’t miss my place in Saints history. I wasn’t able to enjoy experiences like this until about 4 years ago when I first started to realize that God doesn’t look down on me for enjoying myself at sporting events. So now, I make it a point to not only go to the places where I was prompted not to go but to look for the spiritual, to see how God is at work and present.
After the Saints won the Super Bowl they had a parade. The city of New Orleans is approximately 340,000 in population but guess how many people were estimated to have shown up to the parade? A whopping 800,000!!!! It was quite the experience. One of the security guards let me into a restricted area which was designated only for city workers but the guard knew that I was by myself and wouldn’t take up too much space so he let me through.
After crossing the gate I proceeded to wait for the Saints players and coaches to pass through on the floats. I happened to strike up a conversation with another Saints fan who was standing around and instantly I had a light bulb come on. In the middle of our conversation, it occurred to me that God was there at the parade. This man, Reginald, began to talk to me about his life and the role that the Saints had played in it. It was an instant reminder of how God uses insignificant things like football to deeply impact peoples lives and that was what I needed to hear at that moment in time. I live in a world full of hustle and bustle. I live in a world where moving up in the ranks is what proves your worth. I live in a world where the significant are recognized and the insignificant are forgotten. If I come across a situation that merges the “significant” with the “insignificant” then I make sure to take special note of it because it is not far from Gods heart. (1 Corinthians 1:18-30). I video taped Reginald giving his testimony and I posted it on youtube. For those of you who read this blog and have trouble with profanity, please be warned. There is one cuss word. If you do not feel comfortable with cuss words then do not watch this video.
In case you don’t know, Sean Payton is the head coach of the New Orleans Saints. You gotta love Reginald and you gotta love Sean Payton. A class act and fine example of great leadership. Most of all I appreciate how Reginald recognized that God allowed him to see Sean Payton with the weed eater. God used Reginald to encourage me and others about hard work. The funny thing was that we weren’t in a church building or a Bible study and God still blessed me in the “secular”. I thank Reginald and I thank God for allowing me to be at the parade and witness what I did.
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