"What happens here, stays here."
Seems like a good slogan to build an advertising push. After all, why not offer what every one wants anyway? A chance to get away from the responsibilities of life, the job, the family, and just go some where and party like you really want to...With the realization that when it is over, it is over. No guilt, no remorse, no problem.
deep down, most of us want that. A place to let it out and not worry about the whispers of someone who may have seen us in a bar, walking into a nudie joint, or being seen with some one other than our spouse.
Enter Vegas. A place where your sinful desires can be realized and when it is over...It all stays there.
actually, a lot of that is happening at home...But there is that whisper thing when we go to church.
I watched an interview with Billy Graham last week. It made me sad. The last of a dying breed. A generation that will be soon forgotten. After all...He is not post modern.
I was sad because of his simple message. "God loves you." somewhere along the line, that was not enough for me, or for many of those emergent types I ran with. Somewhere along the line, we figured we needed more...It could not be as simple as love...Could it?
The simple, faithful, honest life of integrity this man led is an inspiration for me. God gave him a message to deliver and he did his part.
Today, many religious types believe God is going to use politics to change the world. Many demand a seat in the political arena simply because they are Christians. That is ok I guess. God wants you to have political representation. It just does not have the same ring as God loves you.
The life long pursuit of a simple Gospel delivery. Offering man the love of a God who created him and reminding him of the result of death with out that God. I never saw him preach in person. But I remember as a kid, my dad would have us all sit down and watch every night of every crusade that was on TV.
What happens in Vegas never stays in Vegas. We know that. We cannot hide from our sin, just like we cannot hide from the pursuing love of a Creator who killed His own Son that we may know Him. Billy Graham has been seen by more people in person than any man alive...and he told them all God loves them.
Here's to ya Billy! Thanks for being a model of life and faithfulness. If we do not see each other in this life...See you at the feast!
2 comments:
dude,
i can remember those nites as a kid & being to forced to watch the fine craftsman @ his work...
if only i could've appreciated him that way, instead of the resentment i felt @ the time for him 'screwin' up' my evening of fine viewing pleasure...
i occassionally catch the re-runs on satelite these days...
funny how these things seem to work out...
Billy is one of a kind. I remember reading about his defining moment as a messenger of the Gospel. He went off into the north carolina mountains to get alone with God and he made a covenent that he believed everything about who God says that he is and what he is going to do in light of that fact. The man apparently has kept his promise with God............ I wish I had Billy's resolve. Keep the fires stoked my for his namesake my friend !
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