Celebrity Status

A celebrity is defined as someone who is celebrated. If you knew me as kid, you knew that my favorite celebrity was Tiger Woods. I never really appreciated the game of golf until I watched Tiger Woods play golf. When Tiger Woods was at his peak, he destroyed his competition and hit the golf ball farther than any other player on the PGA Tour, and it wasn't close. Tiger Woods didn't just make golf look easy, he made it exciting. After hitting arguably the most dramatic golf shot of all time at The Masters in 2005 (the ball stopped at the hole showing the Nike symbol before rolling in), his reaction was so electrifying that golf (and his play) had basically captured the attention of the whole world. Tiger Woods "ruled the world" until November 27, 2009 when he crashed his Escalade into a fire hydrant around 2:30 a.m. It would later be discovered that Tiger was not being faithful to his wife and he had a multitude of bad addictions. Tiger's life (and celebrity status) would change forever that night, and I'm sure he would agree that it's never been the same since. At a young age, the life of Tiger Woods taught me a very important lesson. There's no celebrity like Jesus.

When we're young, we tend to gravitate towards the people that are flashy, rich, successful, and talented. Our modern world does the same, often placing people on pedestals that humans just can't live up to. It's okay to aspire to greatness and success, but if we try to do it without a relationship with Jesus, it won't last. John 15: 4-5 says, "Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in Me. ‘I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing.’”

Jesus is often not considered much of a celebrity on Earth, but He is to me. I want you to think for a minute about which celebrity (politician, athlete, musician, etc.) you look up to the most, and then compare that person to Jesus. The comparison is unfair, but that's the point. Since Jesus says I can do nothing without Him, I choose to celebrate Jesus. If you ever find yourself standing in line to see a celebrity, I hope it's Jesus that you're dying to see.

​-Jacob

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