Devotional 6-6-14

A Sign

As I traveled down Norway Avenue, I read the church sign to my right. “He is God. We are not.”  I couldn’t help but smile as my thoughts traveled back to 1975.  My husband and I were with our twenty-something friends, tuning in to watch a new show called Saturday Night Live. SNL, as it came to be known, was never subtle, sometimes hysterical, and always irreverent.

Each week the show opened with a little-known actor named Chevy Chase doing some kind of pratfall and exclaiming, “Live from New York, it’s Saturday Night!” Then he and others in the cast performed outrageous   skits.

One recurring skit was called Weekend Update. It made fun of pretentious anchormen and the news and newsmakers of the day. The cynic in me loved this anchorman’s catch phrase, “Good evening!  I’m Chevy Chase and you’re not.” Of course, what his character was really saying was that we would never be as attractive, intelligent, or famous as he. He simply stated the obvious.

Why did such a serious sign evoke such a strange memory? I guess it was because the church sign reminded me of a time when, like Chevy Chase, I thought I had it all together – a loving husband, two beautiful daughters, a supportive family, a good job, and entertaining friends. But as time went by, I realized that something was missing. It took a little longer to realize that Someone was missing – God.  To find Him, I decided to go back to the place where He and I had first been introduced, Johnson Memorial United Methodist Church. God and JM took me in as if I’d never left.

I am sure the pastor of the church on Norway would be happy to know that his sign got a reaction. But I would have changed the sign just a little. I would have written, “Good news! I’m God and you’re not.“ I would have stated the obvious.

Prayer – Psalm 104:31-34
                                                                                                                                         
May the glory of the Lord endure forever;
May the Lord rejoice in His works.
He looks on the earth, and it trembles;
He touches the hills, and they smoke.

I will sing to the Lord as long as I live;
I will sing praise to my God while I have my being.
May my meditation be sweet to Him;
I will be glad in the Lord.
Amen

Becky Warren