I know, I know… I’m talking about movies that are 14 years old.  Do you even remember what movies came out in ’96?

Let me refresh your memories.

Black Sheep
Bevis & Butthead: Do America
The Cable Guy
D3: The Mighty Ducks
Evita
Flipper
Fargo
Independence Day
And, lastly (but of course not the least) the great: Muppet Treasure Island

But, all of them pale in comparison to me than this gem released on 12.13.96…

That’s right.  I’m a geek.  A “trekker.”  Warp drives, teleportation, aliens, the whole nine yards.  I love it all.
And, why not?  Most of the time when we dream of the future, we dream of one where money, disease, poverty, and hunger don’t exist.

But, for some reason every time I turn on the SyFy channel or reach for a science fiction DVD, Angie rolls her eyes at me.  I believe that tonight’s phrase was something along the lines of, “How many shows do I watch that you don’t like?”  (The only one I could come up with was the Bachelor/ette).  She was going to bed, First Contact was on, so I switched to it.  It’s not that I don’t want to enjoy TV time with her, I do.  I enjoy the thought that someday Isaac might get to go to the moon.  I love looking forward.  It’s just that I enjoy the dream.

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Another worship leader friend of mine named Dave told me once that on a job interview before becoming a pastor he was asked what his major was in college.  The real answer would have been Computer Science.  What he said was, “The future.”  Apparently, it brought the interview to a laughing halt and once the interviewer picked himself up off the floor, Dave was offered the job.

As he told me the story, we realized that we still focus our work on the future.  Tomorrow, next week, next month, all the way through eternity.

when I think about it like that, 1996 doesn’t seem so far gone and the 24th Century doesn’t seem so far away… and that Eternity can’t come soon enough.

GOD, be with us until then.

+pjt