Twenty-Four

24 years ago today, a 22 year old girl and a 28 year old guy were married.

They weren’t going to have kids, and then they changed their mind.  They had two kids, they started a business, they had their ups and downs.  Lots of ups, but, boy, there were a lot of downs too.  From a temperament standpoint, she’s a melancholy “quitter” and he’s a choleric “commitment freak”.  Thank goodness he’s committed.  No matter how many times she wanted to give up on life, he kept her going.  But it certainly hasn’t been easy.

Thankfully, they kept up with date nights.  It helped to get out and unwind.  Six months ago, date night was a Switchfoot concert.

And after that Switchfoot concert, they waited to see if Jon Foreman would play an after show.  Sitting in the car, refreshing Twitter, no updates, they decided to leave Meadowbrook and head home.  Jon must be spending time with his Michigan family tonight.  However, on the way home, one more Twitter refresh, and the after show was announced.  And this guy, he turned the car around.  What a guy!  🙂

They arrived in time to catch the last 2 songs out of 3.  And the third was “24”.  She grabbed her iPod and captured the moment.  The video and lyrics are posted below.

Today, on this 24th wedding anniversary, the words of this song are so perfect:

I am the second man now
And You’re raising the dead in me

Second man?  Who is that?  Well, Adam was the first man and Jesus was the second man.  Adam brought death, but Jesus brought life.  Like Adam, we are physically born into this world just once.  But we can be born again, a “second birth”, a spiritual birth.  This is raising the dead in us; Jesus Christ living inside us.  All we have to do is ask.

You see, Jesus didn’t come to make bad people good.  He came to make dead people LIVE.

The girl and the guy, they weren’t bad people.  But they were still people.  Human beings, born in the spiritual deadness of Adam, ruled by pride and selfishness.  Jon Foreman says it this way in “24”:

Twenty four reasons to admit that I’m wrong
With all my excuses still twenty four strong

Sounds like marriage to me.  I don’t think that girl and that guy would still be married today, 24 years later, if they hadn’t asked that Second Man to come live inside of them.

Is there dead inside that needs raising in you?

Ask Him.

He will.

That’s why He came.

That’s why He died and rose again.

To raise the dead in us.

“If the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, he who raised Christ Jesus from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through his Spirit who dwells in you.”
-The Apostle Paul’s letter to the Romans, Chapter 8, Verse 11 (English Standard Version)

And if you’d like to read more about what happened between 24 years ago and now, check out this post:  Joshua the Prophet 

“Twenty-Four”

Twenty four oceans
Twenty four skies
Twenty four failures
Twenty four tries
Twenty four finds me
In twenty-fourth place
Twenty four drop outs
At the end of the day
Life is not what I thought it was
Twenty four hours ago

Still I’m singing Spirit take me up in arms with You
And I’m not who I thought I was twenty four hours ago
Still I’m singing Spirit take me up in arms with You

Twenty four reasons to admit that I’m wrong
With all my excuses still twenty four strong

See I’m not copping out not copping out not copping out
When You’re raising the dead in me
Oh, oh I am the second man
Oh, oh I am the second man now
Oh, oh I am the second man now

And You’re raising these twenty four voices
With twenty four hearts
With all of my symphonies
In twenty four parts
But I want to be one today
Centered and true

I’m singing Spirit take me up in arms with You
You’re raising the dead in me
Oh, oh I am the second man
Oh, oh I am the second man now
Oh, oh I am the second man now
And You’re raising the dead in me

I want to see miracles, see the world change
Wrestled the angel, for more than a name
For more than a feeling
For more than a cause
I’m singing Spirit take me up in arms with You
And You’re raising the dead in me
Twenty four voices
With twenty four hearts
With all of my symphonies
In twenty four parts.
I’m not copping out. Not copping out. Not copping out.

-Switchfoot, from the album, The Beautiful Letdown