John 3:16 and the Super Bowl (Joe Widick)

Good evening! Lord willing, I am three weeks into my trip to Vietnam! Tonight's entry is again from my former colleague/boss/elder/friend/brother in Christ, Joe Widick of Lebanon, Tennessee. Joe often fills in for me while I am out of the country! Keep me in your prayers!

Once again it is Super Bowl season.  Football fans around the world will focus their attention on a game that appears to be one that should be hard-hitting full of action and some interesting stories.  Do you remember a man by the name of Rollen Stewart?  His claim to fame was in the 80’s.  Did that help?   What about the image of John 3:16, will that help jog your memory?   Still struggling?  What if I added  rainbow and possibly the term afro?  Rollen Stewart became known as the rainbow man.  He was the man who would attend as many major sporting events as possible, with the desire to get on camera holding up a placard with simply John 3:16.  He was at baseball and football games.  He was spotted at prestigious golf matches and he even made it to the Olympics.  At first the cameras at these major events would focus on this man in a rainbow colored afro because he was a novelty.  Eventually the producers of these events wanted to avoid him, but he still was able to pop onto the scene at just the right time.  His eccentric behavior eventually took him in a direction that led to his being sentenced to 3 live terms.  He kidnapped three individuals holding them in a hotel room waiting for the Lord to return.  His story is bizarre to say the least.  Interesting and intriguing are also terms I would use to describe his story. 

I wonder how many people who saw him ever took the time to pick up a Bible and see what John 3:16 said.  I would guess that everyone who reads this column knows what the passage states.  I wonder how many who saw the passage had no idea what John 3:16 said.  Probably some could have cared less what the message of John 3:16 was about.   When was the last time you thought about how much God loves you?  How much does it mean to you to know this one fact from the Bible.  Enough to put a smile on your face?  What about enough to try a little harder to please God and seek His will for you in your life?  What about enough to tell others you work with, golf with, fish with, go to school with, the remarkable story of a man long ago who went to a cross as a perfect sacrifice for you and I. 

Rollen Stewart’s approach was to say the least different.  It was different, but he was at least doing something.  I wish his story didn’t end with a foolish mistake that took him to prison.  I wish the story ended with countless numbers understanding God’s love.

God bless,

Steve
Luke 18:1

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E-mail me at steve@hawleybooks.com