Lessons From An Air Supply Concert

A couple of weeks ago my wife took me to the Christopher Cross and Air Supply (pictured above then and now) concert at the American Music Theater for my birthday. While some have questioned my “manhood” and even called me a “sap” for getting excited about an Air Supply concert, the truth is that I am simply a sucker for the easy listening love songs of the 70’s and the 80’s, and in my opinion, Christopher Cross and Air Supply wrote and recorded some of the best. For example:

Sailing (Christopher Cross)
The theme from the movie, Arthur (Christopher Cross)
I’m All Out Of Love (Air Supply)
You Every Woman In The World (Air Supply)
Even The Night Nights Are Better (Air Supply)
Making Love Out Of Nothing At All (Air Supply)
Lost In Love (Air Supply)
Here I Am (Air Supply)

I have to be honest – it’s been 30 years since I was living my high school years out and these songs were topping the easy listening charts. Many of them I have not heard in those nearly 30 years and I absolutely loved sitting at that concert next to my wonderful wife. It was great!

But part of the enjoyment of the evening wasn’t just singing along with these old love songs, it was also watching the people around me. Actually, Laura and I were two of the youngest people there. I was surprised by how many people in their 50’s and 60’s (you know, the real old people) were packed into this sold out concert.

One lady of that age group really grabbed our attention. She was in the row ahead of us just to the left of our seats. Man, was she into the concert. Half of our evening was watching how excited she got with every song. She couldn’t keep seated. I thought she was going to roll over the balcony edge more than once.

But as I left the concert and was reflecting on the wonderful shared experience my wife and I had that night, it hit me. While we were reliving a piece of our past and enjoying the nostalgic experience, to her it was deeper. Most likely she was not a believer in Jesus and in her late 50’s, she wasn’t just reliving a piece of her past, she was most likely reliving the best part of her life, even including that which is still ahead of her.

You see, if you don’t know Jesus, once you reach a certain age, the best is over. Your future will never be as exciting as your past. For two hours at this concert this woman was able to get into a time warp of sorts and re-live the best times her life will ever have. No wonder she was so animated.

And though I loved being at the concert that evening, especially with my wife, it didn’t affect me in the same way as it did that woman. Why? Because as wonderful of a life as I have experienced for the past 45 years, I am confident that the best is yet to come because, for the Christian, the best is always yet to come.