LOVE FEST ON MSNBC
Okay, I’ll admit what my sweet wife and kids have known for years – I am a serious news junkie. Not just any news, political news has always been my forte. It’s weird, I’ve been like this since childhood. One of my earliest pre-school memories has me sitting in front of the old back & and white, 3 channel, RCA watching a news conference with John Fitzgerald Kennedy and I’m totally engrossed. I also remember being in 8th grade and staying up virtually all night watching the Nixon/Humphery presidential returns at a friends house. I’m in the 8th grade for crying out loud! What bores so many of my dear friends and family members to tears has always inspired and captivated me for some strange reason. Rock-n-roll, Politics and Jesus are such strange bedfellows. Lately I’ve grown a lttle weary of politics and politicians. Except for Tommy Williams who is a member of my church and a faithful supporter of Rebelbase Student Ministries. Your a champion Tommy! Seriously, I’ve grown tired of the empty promises, the partisan bickering, and the highly charged political environment we find ourselves in today. It’s gotten crazy out there and the American people seem to be the ones suffering the most from all the insanity. But this morning I woke up to two people from two opposing parties treating each other with dignity and respect and I almost fell out of bed. My old friend Joe Scarborough has moved to mornings on MSNBC from 6-8 a.m. Strangly enough, he has taken the spot previously occupied by radio talk show host Don Imus. Scarborough, a former Republican Congressman from Florida, was interviewing presidential hopeful Hillary Clinton on his morning program on the subject of healthcare. Healthcare – wow, has there ever been a political issue more polarizing? Of course, gay marriage and abortion but it’s definitely in then top three! I think I watched history being made this morning at 6:30 a.m. Republican Joe Scarborough and Democrat Hillary Clinton actually had a civil discussion on the subject, treating one another with great respect and dignity. This old political junkie almost started crying as I watched these these two political foes actually listening to and understanding one another. What a welcome breath of fresh air. Then it occured to me – Joe loves Jesus! I remembered the night I heard him share his testimony about how he had come to a saving knowledge of Jesus Christ. I then thought – Hillery loves Jesus too! I remembered reading about her Methodist youth minister who had awakened her to the things of God during her teenage years. It was truly something to behold – these two former adversaries listening, understanding, respecting, and letting the spirit come through loud and clear. It was surely a new kind of politic. We will disagree – we will have strong opinions in the days to come where compromise is not an option but we must as Joe and Hillery so beautifully displayed today, reflect the loving, merciful, grace-drentched Jesus to everyone we meet.
rubber soul 