In life it’s important to do things that fill you, that recharge your batteries, and make you feel alive. Well for me, music and specifically lives shows are one of those things that recharge me and make me feel alive. So no matter if it’s driving to Dallas for a show and getting two hours of sleep before work the next morning or having the whole evening off to just chill and go to a show (like last night) I somehow, amazingly enough, find myself filled with life.
Last night I had the opportunity to take the evening off, go into town, get my favourite drink at Starbucks, and just chill and journal for about and hour and a half. We’ve been really busy the past two weeks so it was great to just have some time to download and think and process all that’s been going on. The highlight of the evening though was going to see Dashboard Confessional and Maroon 5 at the Manchester Evening News Arena. I bought my ticket back in August so I’ve been waiting quite a while! Here are two pictures from the show:
Maroon 5
Maroon 5 (Dashboard Confessional opened but my pictures didn’t turn out well).
Dashboard Confessional has been one of my favourite bands for years and I got to see them a few years ago in Dallas. So, naturally I was excited to see them. I had no idea the treat I was in for seeing Maroon 5 though. Maroon 5 put on a phenomenal show playing all the hits from both of their albums and working in some awesome creative stuff as well. Adam Levine, the lead singer from Maroon 5, said two things that I found to be very interesting. The first was:
“Don’t tell America but the UK rocks!” (I couldn’t agree more!)
And on a serious note he said something along the lines of:
“Keep going to live shows because in my opinion there is nothing better in the world.”
While I love a great show, I think there are greater things in this world. When Adam Levine said both statements the crowd cheered so loudly and actually wouldn’t stop on the comment about the United Kingdom being better than the United States.
As we enter this “Holiday Season” (because most places have removed Christ from Christmas) there will be so many messages of what it’s all about. While gifts, family, fun, food, parties, shows, travel etc. are all nice things, the true message and meaning is often lost in the noise and messages of the world.
Author Rob Bell writes:
For Jesus, this new kind of life in him is not about escaping this world but about making it a better place, here and now. The goal for Jesus isn’t to get into heaven. The goal is to get heaven here. Rob Bell “Velvet Elvis” p 148 (Emphasis added)
A Christian is not someone who expects to spend forever in heaven there. A Christian is someone who anticipates spending forever here, in a new heaven that comes to earth. The goal isn’t escaping this world but making this world the kind of place God can come to. And God is remaking us into the kind of people who can do this kind of work. Rob Bell “Velvet Elvis” p 150 (Emphasis added)
Over 2000 years ago Christ came into this world. He left us with the job of making it a place that he can again come back to one day. This Christmas season, let’s be about making our world, our community a place that is worthy of a King, our King; let’s make heaven on earth. Isn’t that the true meaning of Christmas, the arrival of our Saviour? And that, I believe, is truly the greatest event in the world.
On the journey . . . .
Chad
