Written by Cara Brock
What do five singing European boys and Jesus have in common? They draw crowds. Last night I had the pleasure to witness both, though I had only intended one. I hope I can shed light onto the unexpected experience.
One Direction is currently in Charlotte, North Carolina. Every teenage girl from the Carolinas is at the PNC Music Pavilion right now. If not tonight, they were there last night for sure. Since I bought my ticket December 3rd of last year I have been anxiously awaiting my chance to see these fellas romp around a stage for two hours. However this anticipation did not prepare me for what I would actually behold. I’ve been a fan since their debut on the British X-Factor back in 2010. I saw their movie its premiere day, alone, at 21, having bought my ticket in advance online (turns out I didn’t need to – there were only four other people… children there). I understand their appeal, that they have tons of fans worldwide, and that they put on a great show. But I was not expecting what I walked into Saturday night.
Parking opened at 2. The venue opened at 5:30. I, against my better judgment, listened to my parents and waited to leave home around 4:30. Luckily, parking was no problem. It was around 4:45 after exiting my car and approaching the entrance that I realized the error of my ways. I saw the line of enthusiastic fans eager to file in and find their seats, and then I kept seeing it. It just kept happening. I soon gathered that there were already more people in this line than there were students in my entire preK-12th grade school. They numbered well into the thousands. As I hurried to the back of the mass, others did too. And then more and more. The line soon looped around itself six times then spilled out to the street. After inching forward for over an hour, I finally made it to the home stretch (and I had been in the first quarter of the bunch when the gates actually opened – I can only imagine the wait in store for those after me).
It was during this lengthy wait that I had time to acknowledge what was really going on. Between overhearing gems of quotes like “in 7th grade I could stay up super late no problem. But now that I have lots of tests to study for I can hardly stay up late at all. Ughhhh” and “I’M NOT A GPS, MOM.” I focused on what was going on. Multitudes of people were gathering and devoting their time to witness an exciting spectacle. It prompted me to think “what if this group were amassing for Jesus?” What if people were making t-shirts, decorating posters, and painting their faces in anticipation for seeing their Savior? This does bring to mind the numerous times when Jesus did draw a crowd of spectators. Like when He healed the paralytic,
And many were gathered together, so that there was no more room, not even at the door. And He was preaching the word to them. And they came, bringing to Him a paralytic carried by four men. And when they could not get near Him because of the crowd, they removed the roof above Him, and when they had made an opening they let down the bed on which the paralytic lay (Mark 2:2-4).
I was witnessing a sort of visual aid for the kind of crowds the Lord gathered. If only these girls – and a few guys – were this passionate for Christ. I don’t mean to imply that none of the individuals there have a relationship with Jesus, just that it cannot be assumed that the group as a whole does.
Finally, as I made my way to the bag check, I looked back and saw that the line system had clearly failed and the mass was running my way like a tsunami. Oh that we were all that on fire, and that we were raging for our God!
Fast forward a couple hours and One Direction finally takes the stage. The indoor/outdoor venue was unsurprisingly packed, filled with screams, glow sticks, and overpriced concert t-shirts. A girl beside me started bawling before she even knew what was going on. Throughout the night, the crowd, including me, belted out every word of every song, hands in the air, dancing to the uber catchy beats. We were all there to enjoy the talents of our five collective boyfriends. I’ve never been to a contemporary Christian concert, but from what I’ve seen it is similarly charismatic and emotive. However, even those concerts – though to praise the Lord – cannot compare to the visual given in Revelations 7:9-12
After this I looked, and behold, a great multitude that no one could number, from every nation, from all tribes and peoples and languages, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, clothed in white robes, with palm branches in their hands, and crying out with a loud voice, “Salvation belongs to our God who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb!” And all the angels were standing around the throne and around the elders and the four living creatures, and they fell on their faces before the throne and worshiped God, saying, “Amen! Blessing and glory and wisdom and thanksgiving and honor and power and might be to our God forever and ever! Amen.”
I don’t believe we can even comprehend how great that day will be when we can all collectively celebrate our Creator together. It’s going to be infinitely times more enjoyable, more fun, more meaningful than a measly One Direction concert. Kinda makes my brain want to explode.
So thanks for reading my ramble of the weekend. My mind’s a little cluttered as I’m trying to manage my post-concert sadness with my overwhelming joy for the day we stand before the throne of our Savior! But I am thankful to Him for making His presence so known to me last night as I benefited from the talents He bestowed upon Louis Tomlinson, Zayn Malik, Harry Styles, Liam Payne, and Niall Horan.
