Last night I was channel surfing and came across a concert with Jennifer Lopez. The concert hall was packed to capacity. It was the beginning of the concert. J Lo’s dancers came onto the stage first, the lights were perfect, the music was creating a sense of anticipation that the star was about to appear.
Suddenly, a crane began to lower from high above and on the attached platform was a costume adorned Jennifer Lopez. As the music continued to create excitement and the dancers were preparing to join the star, the camera cut to shots of the audience.
I was stunned at what I saw.
Tears were flowing. People of all ages were crying as their eyes met the beautiful creation known as J Lo as she descended closer and closer to the stage. Grown women covered their mouths as the tears flowed. The camera cut to a grown man weeping. Children were wide-eyed with awe and wonder.
My spirit was repulsed as I watched this worship service. I saw a depth of intimacy that one rarely sees in contemporary church culture. In fact, I wonder how many people in that audience forbade talk about “religion” at their family Christmas celebrations yet there they were, having a truly religious and deeply spiritual experience with Jennifer Lopez. It showed on their faces.
I wonder how many church-goers were in that audience? I wonder if they would be willing to fall that deeply in love with the One who gave His life to save them? I wonder if they would be willing to shed tears of joy for the Savior—or would that embarrass them?
The people who were crying had invested a lot of time with Jennifer to develop that level of intimacy yet, they likely had never actually physically met her face to face.
That’s the key to intimacy. Investment of time with a person. You don’t even have to physically be with someone in order love them deeply or even shed tears of joy or hurt for them. There’s more than enough information available for the hundreds of thousands, if not millions, who have become deeply emotionally attached to Jennifer to the point that they shed tears over her.
It’s been 2000 years since Jesus walked the earth. There’s more than enough available information about Him to experience and have a deep relationship with Him. In fact, Jesus rose from the dead and through the Holy Spirit, still walks the earth today and, unlike Jennifer, Jesus can and will have literal personal intimacy with anyone who asks. If invited, He will literally move right into one’s heart.
Idolatry is alive and well on planet earth and is spreading faster than ever. The concert reminded me of the Ten Commandments…
You shall have no other gods before or besides Me. (Exodus 20:3)
…and from the New Testament:
…they exchanged the truth of God for a lie and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, (Romans 1:25)
What would an evening with Jesus be like for you?
Brad Huddleston is on the Virginia Christian Alliance Board of Advisors. Brad has degrees in Computer Science and Bible. He is an author, speaker, and Evangelist. He and his wife Beth travel the globe ministering in conferences, churches, schools, and retreats. Brad often appears on radio and television. His book can be ordered at www.bradhuddleston.com and www.darksideoftechnology.com, and he can be reached at brad@bradhuddleston.com
