Daily Devotions
In the days leading up to this year’s Super Bowl, I was in Dallas.
Like everybody in the metroplex, I saw hour after hour of news covering every detail of every player. We heard about their history, their family’s history, and the history of their family’s friends. It was football overkill.
So far, I have tried to spare you some of the pain we all experienced.
I have resisted until now. That’s because I keep remembering Tom and Nancy Noone of Grove City, Pa. They were among the tens of thousands who came to watch the Super Bowl.
Since their tickets cost a mere $800, they certainly didn’t expect to occupy the best of seats. They didn’t expect the best seats, but they did expect to be seated.
It was a misplaced trust.
The Noones were among the few hundred people who held tickets to makeshift seats which the fire marshal had decided were unsafe. Having spent about $20,000 on the trip, the couple was compelled to watch the game on a TV… a TV in a room underneath the stadium’s seating.
So, why tell Tom and Nancy Noone’s story?
Simple. The Noones believed … but the thing in which they put their trust let them down. They believed sincerely, but that sincerity didn’t make any difference when it came time to be seated. Like the foolish virgins in Jesus’ parable, they were left out in the cold.
It is a great sadness that so many — people on a spiritual level — are walking in the Noone’s shoes. They believe in themselves, their friends, their work and other religions. They, like the Noones, are going to be disappointed. When Judgment Day comes, they will be on the outside looking in.
In truth, there is only One Person who is worthy of our trust and that Person is the Savior. He is the One who has never lied to us; He is the One who has kept His promises; He is the One who offered His life as a ransom price for our forgiveness.
Jesus, and Jesus alone — He is the One in whom we can believe without fear of disappointment.
Our prayer reflects our thanksgiving for the Savior.
THE PRAYER: Dear Heavenly Father, when humankind fell into sin, You promised to send a Redeemer. In the Person of Your Son every promise has been kept. Through His life, suffering, death and resurrection I am forgiven and saved. Now, I pray the Holy Spirit may touch those who have convinced themselves there are other saviors who are just as good as Jesus. May they be brought to faith in Him who is the Way, the Truth and the only Giver of eternal life. In Jesus’ Name. Amen.