this way…

It was one of the highlights of my teenage Christian-rock-music loving years. My favorite band was coming to perform in a city only an hour and a half away, and a friend of mine and I were going to go. They would be performing twice, Friday night and Saturday afternoon, and we had tickets to attend both concerts! I remember Friday morning, arriving around 10am for the 6pm concert. We were almost first in line, and surrounded by lots of other fans.

The concert was everything we’d hoped for. Our seats were okay, and the music was awesome. This was a show they did before starting their tour, so they were trying out all sorts of new things, and asking the crowd for feedback.

We had made arrangements to stay (for free) at a pastors house nearby, because we’re cheap. But with blizzard conditions outside, we were taking our time. It was getting late, and we’d been told the band had already left, so we were just killing time on couches in the public lobby. We’d just about fallen asleep when the band came out from their devotional time.

They asked us what our plans were for that night, and in our stunned stupor, we told them we were just about to fall asleep there. They invited us to come back and have spaghetti with them, and so there we were, two high school guys eating pasta with a band we were probably a bit too excited about. But the awesomeness did not end there. When they found out we were coming to the show the next day, they asked if we’d help them out. They had family nearby, and some young relatives who’d never gotten to be in the front row, because it’s usually too crowded. They asked if we’d come in with them in the morning, and protect their family members so they could be down front….of course we quickly agreed!!

Sure enough, the next day we met up with them outside. As we got to the entrance where dozens of fans were already waiting anxiously, they told us to follow them. We were able to go where no one was allowed, backstage, and entering early into the place everything was going to happen in just a few hours. We heard the soundcheck, and experienced a bit of backstage life, simply because they provided us with the opportunity. It’s something I’ll never forget.

Now imagine someone opening the door to something a thousand times more incredible. Something so incredibly out of this world, that we have a hard time explaining it. A window shade was drawn back. A curtain was torn. A door was opened. A path was pioneered. A veil was lifted. Jesus has given us a connection to be sourced in the life of the Age to Come even today!

Hebrews 2:10 says, “It was fitting that God, for whom and through whom all things exist, in bringing many children to glory, should make the pioneer of their salvation perfect through sufferings.”

It definitely didn’t come the way the disciples were planning.  Still today, there are times when we wish God could reveal Himself as Lord more as a “Superman” type, and less of a “loving servant” type.  Nevertheless, we read in Hebrews that in Jesus Christ, we now have access to God, and His Life, as never before.

Do we live in response to that knowledge?  Will we follow the trail that has been blazed on our behalf?