The name Rollen Stewart may be unknown to you. However, if you watched any sporting event in the 1980’s you probably saw him with his trademark Rainbow wig and his John 3:16 sign. Stewart was seemingly omnipresent appearing at everything from the Super Bowl and the World Series to even the Royal Wedding of Prince Charles and Princess Diana. This one guy managed to be able to appear from out of nowhere with his simple sign that shared the singular Scripture reference. But underneath the wig was a man who had suffered much in his own life. His own struggles lead to an arrest in 1992 and three life sentences in prison.
Our prayer is that the words of John 3:16 never lose their impact. In that one singular verse, our Lord tells us of the depth of the Father’s love for the world that He created that He would willingly offer His Son as a substitute for all so that everyone who believes in Him would not perish but have everlasting life. This message is for those who are hurting and broken, those who are in prisons of their own making, those who have the world on a string and those who have nothing in this world at all. God’s love is for all. Jesus died for all. We pray that no matter how many times we read those actual words, not simply a sign, that the Holy Spirit would assure us that those words of Good News are for each of us.
I miss seeing the Rainbow Man at sporting events today. So many of the signs we see in our world today are associated with protests. Our world needs a message of hope and Good News. It is a message for all – no matter who they are or what they have done – God so loved the world. May the Holy Spirit move us to be an army of witnesses, not holding John 3:16 signs, but bearing witness to Christ in our words and deeds in our communities and to all who are lost and need to know that God’s love is for them also.
Prayer – Almighty God, our heavenly Father, we thank You that in Your great love for all the world that You sent Your beloved Son and offered Him as a sacrifice for sin on the altar of the cross. As Jesus was lifted up for us, we pray that you would draw all people unto Yourself that in Him they might receive forgiveness for their sins and everlasting life in His name. Amen.
Fraternally in Christ,
President Lee Hagan