A long, long time ago I can still remember how that music used to make me smile and I knew if I had my chance that I could make those people dance and maybe they’d be happy for a while but February made me shiver with every paper I delivered, bad news on the door step, I couldn’t take one more step, I can’t remember if I cried when I read about his widowed bride but something touched me deep inside, the day, the music, died.

In 1971 Don McLean’s American Pie bent America’s ear and captured her heart. It is mostly about the loss of better days as McLean recounts the hardships of the 60′s. The song begins with, and pivots on, the death of Buddy Holly in 1959. Buddy Holly’s music, simple and optimistic, symbolized an easier time in American culture for many people, including McLean.

America has come a long way since then and we have dealt with more tragedy and cultural shift than 1971 could have imagined. So, I think I can understand some of what McLean was lamenting.

The day the music died was the day that Buddy Holly, Ritchie Valens and the Big Bopper all died in a plane crash. The tragedy of such a day is that all we have left of these great musicians is the music they left behind. They can never produce anything new; they have nothing more to contribute to our lives.

Unfortunately I think many Christians look at Jesus in the same way. The day the music died might have been the end of Buddy Holly’s contribution to society, but the day the Savior died does not mark the end of His involvement in our lives; in fact it was only the beginning.

This is, of course, the foundation of the Christian faith and what the life of every Christian should be centered on:

For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received: that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures, and that he appeared to Cephas, then to the twelve. Then he appeared to more than five hundred brothers at one time…
1 Corinthians 15:3-6 (ESV)

We serve a living Savior, not a dead religion. We live for, and under the authority of, Jesus who loves us and continually speaks into our lives. Jesus didn’t defeat death so that He could go home to Heaven and get away from His creation, but so that He could sit at the right hand of God and actively intercede for us (Hebrews 7:25), praying for us and impacting our lives here and now.

I have no doubt that God has a plan for every life He purchased through the sacrifice of His son (1 Corinthians 6:20). And, as a part of that plan, God wants to guide and direct us. He wants to interact with us. He wants us to know Him and love Him in a deep and intimate way. God is here, now (Psalm 14:5). Jesus is praying for us, now. The Holy Spirit is guiding us, now (John 16:13). We would all do well to listen carefully and follow eagerly in whatever direction He takes us.

This is our church’s first week without a pastor. As I think about that I am sad in some ways, missing members of our family, but I am also excited to see what God has in store for us. I am reminded that we may be missing our pastor, but we are still under the guidance and direction of our Senior Pastor, Jesus. My prayer is that our church will continue to follow Him, listening for His direction to guide our path.

P.S. I realize that the truth that I am speaking of here is something that every Christian knows already. But, I felt compelled to write this because even though we know this is true, we usually live like it is not. My prayer for my family and for you, the reader, is that we will embrace the simple truth that Jesus is alive and desires to be an active part of our lives. And, I pray that this truth will set us free to live for Him with every ounce of our being.