March 15, 2002… Fayetteville, NC is socked in with thick, wet fog. And several thousand of us are waiting in the Crown Coliseum for a once-in-a-lifetime kind of moment. The air is more electric than any I think I’ve ever felt and the expectation is high. The person we’ve been waiting for has been delayed for more than an hour because fog has socked in the airport, but nobody’s complaining. We’ll wait and wait gladly, because the payoff will be worth it.
And then… a man in a dark suit steps onto the stage carrying what looks like a dinner plate. The entire arena goes silent. He stops, solemnly affixes the seal to the podium, steps back, and leaves.
The President of the United States is in the building.
Those assembled go wild… and then are faced with another wait as other special guests are introduced.
And then… a voice. “Ladies and Gentlemen, the President of the United States” and the first chords of “Hail to the Chief.” There he is, stepping across the stage to applause and cheers and waves and shouts. The noise dies down, he begins to speak, and the crowd–largely soldiers–begins to scream again. It’s amazing, incredible to us all… the President is before us. The highest authority in the land stands feet away from us, sharing the air in the room.
I thought about that this morning, because I was thinking about Jesus’ return. On March 15, 2002, I couldn’t quite comprehend that I was in the same room as a man I’d seen on TV so many times, who I truly admired, the very President of my country.
What will it be like on the day when the sky splits and the very King of Kings appears? Oh, can you imagine the cheers on that day, when the King of Glory is seen face to face, sharing our air, the highest authority ever will finally be “in the building”?
Am I waiting in holy expectation for that moment? Wondering when the time will come, on the edge of my seat, feeling the delay, but oh so ready for him to appear? When the fog rolls in and it seems like He’s never going to come, do I still strain to see him?
I cannot wait for my King to take the stage, y’all. This morning, I wanted to jump up and down thinking about it. How about you?
JB
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