Don't wait for the introduction

Just returned from Florida & a great family vacation. Nothing better than a cross-country jaunt with the wife & kiddos. I'm all about family time & family talk, but I must say, whoever invented the car DVD player should win some kind of Nobel Prize. And whoever invented the wireless DVD headphones should win two.

Right in the middle of Mississippi, I passed a giant billboard that read: WHEN YOU DIE, YOU WILL MEET GOD !!! I suppose this was supposed to scare me into a better relationship with the Almighty. What a shame. First, scare tactics seem to be the most time-tested and failed evangelism strategy in history. Maybe that's why Jesus himself went in a whole different direction.

Second, what a bummer to think you won't meet God until you die. Isn't that the whole point of the incarnation? That, and the gift of the Holy Spirit? God is present right now. No need to wait for a relationship. No need to ride this thing out for 80-some-odd years waiting in line for a crack at eternity. Go ahead and cut the line. Move on up front and get an early peek. Kind of like a backstage pass for sound check.

I went to a Jackson Browne show once, got there early and watched sound check with 40 people. Then some 15,000 poured in for the show. When we talked about what happened with some late-comers, they were jealous. All they wanted to know was what it was like? They enjoyed the concert, but they were convinced that they missed out on a much better experience. Bottom line: They were right.

Life is so much better with God in it. No need to wait for the introduction.