The dog show at the State Fair is one of my favorites. My dogs hate it when I go. I always come home and try to inspire them to new heights. I would love for them to play fetch with me, but they will not. The dog at the show will grab frisbees in mid-flight. They will leap up into the trainer's arms. Whenever I toss something for my dogs, they look at me with disbelief. They wonder why I would throw something so far away. They watch with amusement when I go and retrieve it myself. Then they lay back down exhausted from all my effort.
I have tried to get my dogs to jump over a barrier. One dog will do it. The other always falls into the pole. It’s never more than about 18 inches high. The dog at the State Fair could jump high - way over 40.” I wanted to get pictures of it. I had my phone set to slow motion. I was in the perfect spot.
Then the guy in the red shirt emerged. The area of the dog show was 150’ by 50.’ Hundreds of people were sitting in bleachers and sitting on the ground so that everyone could see the dog’s tricks. Right at this crucial moment, the guy in the red shirt came out of nowhere and stood right in front of me. He obscured the jumping pole. Twice for just a brief moment he stepped out of my shot and I was able to see the the dog clearly, but just as quickly he shifted back in front of me. He is in every one of my pictures. I wanted to scream, “Down in front!” I just needed him to take a knee, to crouch down a little. He was like a pine tree in a hurricane and did not bend even an inch.
He worked for the dog show. His job was to set the pole back up so that the dog could jump over it. He was necessary, even vital to the process, but it was not about him. It was as if the ball kid at a tennis match kept walking out into the middle of the court during the match. They are supposed to run out, get the ball, and then disappear. Mr Red Shirt blocked the view of 50 or 60 people.
Jesus is the center of our faith, but too often we make ourselves the center of attention. We make following Christ about our preferences, our opinions, and our ideas. When people we know come to see Christ, we stand in the way. The world is shouting, “Down in Front.” It needs us to tear down all of the man-centered things we have substituted for God. It needs us to get quiet and humble and point to Jesus who is the one person everyone needs to know.