Fifteen Minutes of Fame

“And immediately his fame spread abroad throughout all the region round about Galilee.” (Mark 1:28)

 

Everyone by now knows about this supposed “fifteen minutes of fame” that we are all entitled to. The problem comes in when we get it in the wrong way. With viral media the way it is these days, you can have the most embarrassing or shameful things you can imagine make headlines overnight. You can even become “famous” (or infamous) for evil and wrong beyond just the typical embarrassing stuff we all do. Who ever heard of George Zimmerman before the incident a few weeks ago that thrust him into the national spotlight? For those of you who have been under a rock lately, he is the guy in Florida who shot and killed a 17 year old boy because he thought he was a threat to the neighborhood. It is a little hard sometimes to figure out what is going on the minds of people, but we can all be sure that Mr. Zimmerman had no idea he would be so “famous” for something like this. He unfortunately has earned way more than his share of the fifteen minutes, and his life and the lives of both families involved are changed forever.

 

No matter how much a person tries to shy away from his “fifteen minutes”, every one of us will someday be famous in the eyes of the entire Universe. Romans 14:12 says, “So then every one of us shall give account of himself to God.” Every secret thing that everyone has ever done will be exposed to the light of the true God who made us and has a claim on our lives. I would think that very few people would actually want that type of fame. While I am sure that no one reading this has probably ever killed another person like George Zimmerman did, you still would not want all your “dirty laundry” paraded in front of a holy God for all to see. That is one of the best benefits of knowing Jesus as your personal Saviour. Obviously the best benefit is the home in heaven he guarantees us. Regardless of fame or embarrassment or any other issue, salvation from a lake of fire and eternity in heaven with our Lord sure is a good deal! But all of us have things about our lives that we would just as soon forget about and never bring up anywhere. If the “movie” of my life was played for all to see – with every thought acted out as well, I would take the next slow boat to China and you would never hear from me again. You would do the same.

 

Hebrews 12:2 says, “Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith; who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God.” He took my sin and shame on the cross. He “despised” it when he was there so that I don’t have to have the whole world despise me for it. Now I can have purpose and meaning in life and work for him to further his kingdom. We all still do things we shouldn’t, and I am no exception. The “Rev” attached to my name does not do anything for my flesh. But with the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ covering our sins, we can live in his light as he intended, and “Be not ashamed before him at his coming.” (I John 2:28)

 

Speaking of fifteen minutes of fame, some day very soon, “This same Jesus, which is taken up from you into heaven, shall so come in like manner as ye have seen him go into heaven.” (Acts 1:11). When he does, he will be crowned King of kings and Lord of lords, and he will be the ruler of the world. A recent survey question was posed to people: “If you could have dinner with any person, dead or alive, who would it be?” Abraham Lincoln finished first. Jesus came in 11^th. He didn’t even crack the top ten! We might think Jesus is a pretty famous person now, and he is, but wait until he sits on the throne of his glory in Jerusalem. If you know him as Saviour now, you will be a “joint-heir” with him then (Romans 8:16). I will some day be best friends with the King of the world. I will be famous because he is famous. Tell as many people as you can about him, and serve him faithfully now, so that when he comes, he can say to you, “Well done, thou good and faithful servant, enter into the joy of thy Lord.”