Remember The Eternal Grant Park

There's an empty stage with a podium ready for a man to step up and deliver words of encouragement. Thousands and thousands of people gather and eagerly wait for this man they support and love. The man walks out with American flags waving in the background and those thousands of people cheer and cry as he approaches the podium. He speaks and delivers words of hope and guidance and everyone's attention is firmly gripped upon him.

This is the picture from Tuesday night as Barack Obama delivered his election victory speech. As I watched I could not help but see the picture painted by Revelation 7:9-10:

After this I looked, and behold, a great multitude that no one could number, from every nation, from all tribes and peoples and languages, standing before the trhone and before the Lamb, clothed in white robes, with palm branches in their hands, and crying out with a loud voice, "Salvation belongs to our God who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb!"

People of all tribes, nations, and languages gather around a man and worship him. Doesn't that remind you of the image from Obama's victory speech? Does this mean Obama is the Christ or Anti-Christ? No. It means people are thirsting for a throne they can worship and whose ruler will deliver peace, hope, justice, and salvation.

Mark Driscoll wrote a great analysis of people's thirst for their politicians to fulfil Revelation 7 in his blog "In God We Do Not Trust." Here's the link:

http://theresurgence.com/in_god_we_do_not_trust

In his blog, Driscoll writes, "In this election, people thirst for a savior who will atone for their economic sins of buying things they did not need with money they did not have. The result is a mountain of credit debt they cannot pay and a desperate yearning that somehow a new president will save them from economic hell."

From a Christian stand, looking at thousands of people cheering for their ruler is both a sad and an encouraging site. It is said because no matter who was standing at that podium - or future podiums - that person will fail our Revelation 7 expectations; they will ultimately return to the dust from which they came. But it is an encouraging site because Christians know that one day they will stand before a throne that will last forever and whose seat is occupied by a God absolutely worthy of our adoration because of His work on the cross. Psalm 146 says:

Praise the LORD!
Praise the LORD, O my soul!
I will praise the LORD as long as I live;
I will sing praises to my God while I
have my being.

Put not your trust in princes,
in a son of man, in whom there is no salvation.
When his breath departs, he returns to the earth;
on that very day his plans perish.

Blessed is he whose help is the God of Jacob,
whose hope is in the LORD his God,
who made heaven and earth,
the sea, and all that is in them,
who keeps his faith forever;
who executes justice for the oppressed,
who gives food to the hungry.

The LORD sets the prisoners free;
the LORD opens the eyes of the blind.
The LORD lifts up those who are bowed down;
the LORD loves the righteous.
The LORD watches over the sojourners;
he upholds the widow and the
fatherless,
but the way of the wicked he brings
to ruin.

The LORD will reign forever,
your GOD, O Zion, to all generations.
Praise the LORD!

Oh, how I yearn for the day when I am able to stand before the throne of the Living God whose name is worthy of my eternal praise because he sets the prisoners free. And you know what will make that moment so much sweeter than going to the Obama victory speech in Grant Park? I bet you so many of the people in Grant Park wanted just a second with Barack Obama whether to get their picture with him or thank him. With the throne of God, despite the fact billions of people will be there, I will be able to approach God and have fellowship with him. I will be able to ask him any question. I will be able to talk with him and explore his thoughts about any subject... forever.

1 Peter 3: 18

For Christ also suffered once for sins, the righteous for the unrighteous, that he might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh but made alive in the spirit...

Isaiah 43: 1

"Fear not, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by name, you are mine."

For those who have placed their trust in the redeeming work of Christ, remember that you are His and you will be able to worship Him forever with cheers and shouts and then you'll be able to walk up to Him and talk with Him for however long you want. Worship, my brothers. Worship.