This Sunday morning at about 7:30 a.m., I'll join with a bunch of guys from our church to do the same thing we have done every week for over two years. We'll back up two trailers to the school where we meet and, one by one, we'll move equipment into the areas where they will be used to worship, teach, fellowship and gather. Part of that set up and tear down each week is a stage where our band leads worship. From time to time there will be a drama or an interview, a testimony or an interpretive movement of some kind. And, most weeks, I or one of the other pastors here will step to that stage and deliver a message of some kind--something we believe God has led us to bring to our people.

That stage becomes the place where we try to "display" God, if you will. For the people who come into our gathering, it is where we try to show His love and teach His truth. It's not always done right. The pastor's not perfect. My Southern dialect and goofy sense of humor can serve as a wall to someone's hearing as much as a bridge. Here's the amazing part. Despite all of the problems we can have with what's put up on that stage, God still gets glory. The song may not come off just right or there may be some technical problem, but God's spirit is still given a chance to work on individuals who have found their way to Ridgeview that week. It's quite humbling to know that He will do that in spite of the myriad of imperfections.

And it causes me to think of another stage where God is "displayed"--our lives. Rather than week-to-week, it's a minute by minute showcase of God and His greatness. On this stage, you and I have full authority to do what we choose. We can turn the spotlight on ourselves and try to gain a little fame for us. We can allow sin to become a distraction. Or, we can do what stages were created to do...serve as a display for the "star" of the show. In this case, it's God. And every move we make becomes either a reflection of or a stumbling block to his character. I'm praying today that my life would become the perfect stage for God's glory so that others may see the purest display of His love. John the Baptist (this really cool yet weird guy in the Bible) said it this way, "He must become greater and greater; I must become less and less." John 3:30 NLT