Seek His Autograph

One Thursday night in Springfield, Ohio, several years ago, I was picking up some ice cream for the family at the Kroger at the end of my street. As I left the aisle and headed towards the self-checkout, I spotted a little boy I knew from an elementary school where I did a weekly ministry. It's not an understatement to say this kid was in awe that he saw me at the grocery. With his eyes big, he asked, "Pastor Dennis, you shop here too?". The only time I've felt more like a celebrity was at a Speedway late one night near Paul Brown Stadium in Cincinnati, OH. As I climbed out of my 2002 Dodge Neon with a fresh dent in the door gifted to me by an 80-year-old board member who could never get her lipstick anywhere near her lips, some guy looked at me with the same awe as the kid at Kroger asked, "Do you play for the Bengals?". My only response was to look back at the car in a way that invited him to look, too, at which point we both just laughed.

It has always amazed me that people idolize others because they can throw a football, sing a song, or write a book. I have never felt the urge to stand in line to get another man's autograph. The thought has never crossed my mind. It might have been my dad drilling into my mind to remember that every man puts his pants on one leg at a time. We are all just men. 

The closest I have ever come to idolizing another man would be my fascination with Steve Jobs. After reading Walter Isaacson's biography of Job, I honestly say that I would not have been a fan of the man. I never would have been able to tolerate how he treated others, but something about his life fascinates me. My friends in Newport, KY, whom I pastored, would tease me endlessly for the many illustrations I used in my sermons after reading the biography twice. Steve Jobs unknowingly echoed my dad's words when he said, "Life broadens when you realize that everything around you that you call life is made up by people no smarter than you."

That quote, or mindset, solidified that while we can appreciate the amazing things that other people create, we all can do great things. Lou Holtz said, "I can't believe God put us on earth to be ordinary." Life does broaden with the possibility that God created each of us to be extraordinary in our ways.

If there were one man who might get me to stand in line to gain an audience, it would be King David. There is a bunch written about him, and I would jump at the chance to sit and hear his story.

Here are some of the questions I would ask:

 - What did it feel like walking into your house as a young boy where the prophet Samuel, your father, and all your older brothers stood as you were anointed the next King of Israel?

-What convinced you that God would give you victory over the Giant?

-Why did you pick up five stones for the sling?

-How did you know not to kill King Saul when it looked like God delivered him into your hands those two times?

-Why Bathsheba? 

There is another event in David's life that has shaped my reluctance to seek another man's autograph. In the book of 2 Samuel chapter six, King David brings the Ark of the Lord into Jerusalem. The nation dances in celebration before the Lord, and David is in the mix. The Bible says he removes his kingly robes and dresses like everyone else. This act didn't go unnoticed by David's wife. Later that day, she told the King he should be ashamed and that his conduct was unbecoming of royalty. David responds, "Heck, I'd become even more undignified than that in my worship of God."

David's leadership was marked by humility. He knew he was not God but an instrument in Almighty God's hands. As King, David didn't position himself to be honored by the people but instead led the people to hold the only one worthy of worship in high esteem. David removed his royal robe and, in doing so, indicated that he was just like everyone else. He was the recipient of God's love and His grace. David's act proved that he would not be handing out autographs and accepting the accolades. Instead, he led the dance to honor the covenant God who established the people in Israel and delivered them once again from the hands of their enemies. 

If you read the many Psalms David wrote about God, you will discover a bunch of black-and-white verses that reveal David's desire to have God's autograph all over his life and his desire never to step in and play that role for those he led. 

You can do many great things with sand, but the Bible says that only a fool would build his house on it. The same is true of people. People have done remarkable things in our lifetimes, but like sand, they are not to be built on. Only the Living God deserves that adoration and attention from you. Seek to have Him alone autograph your life.