1.21 blog

Yesterday evening I went to a Metallica concert in Charlotte. They played a great show, with a very well chosen set list (notably, and rightly, absent were any songs from Load, Reload, or St. Anger…I’m not hating, but when you’ve only got a few hours these need to fall by the wayside). These guys are getting older, I think they’re all in their forties at this point (I know that’s not very old. But it is older). James Hetfield curses a lot less these days, and their stage show was better than ever. But that’s not why I’m writing. In addition to being thoroughly entertained by a band I’ve been listening to since I was eight or nine, I actually learned a fair amount about God, Christianity, and the church last night. So for the next few posts, I’m going to kind of tease out some of the insights I gained from the show.

After the two opening bands played, the scene was one of anticipation. Everyone was waiting. Perhaps they’d enjoyed the other two bands, but now they were ready for the main event. And Metallica took their time getting to the stage. I don’t know how long we waited, but we waited a while. At various points, people tried to “clap” them out of hiding and onto the stage. It didn’t work. They weren’t coming on our time table. They were coming when they were ready. As time crept on, my focus was narrowed to the barricaded section on the floor through which I new the band would be passing once the lights dimmed and “Ecstasy of Gold” started to play.

And as I waited, I realized that I was anticipating the band’s emergence in such a way that everything else going on around me was fading in importance. Sure, there was a lot going on. There were drunk people acting like fools. There was clapping. There were some rude guys a few rows ahead of me. But none of that was what was important. I was looking forward to something far more important. Something I wanted far more than these other things.

And here’s the thing. One day Jesus Christ will return to earth, set all things right, and judge the living and the dead (Acts 1.11; 1 Thessalonians 4.13-18; 2 Thessalonians 1.5-12). And the Christian life is lived in anticipation and hope of his return. While it’s very easy for people to get over excited and sensationalistic about the Return of Christ, for many of us our lives are lived as if he’s never coming back. We need to regain that perspective of hope and anticipation. We need to learn to  look forward to and anticipate the Second Coming like I anticipated Metallica last night.

Because Jesus is far better than Metallica.

Posted by: Gene Schlesinger