On Father’s day we went to Branson for dinner. The restaurant was overwhelmingly loud with the combination of diners talking, dishes clanging, and the multitude of televisions broadcasting sports and music and cooking shows. One thing that stood out above all the others was the music channel. 

The music was a variety, to most of which I said, “I don’t know that one” or “That’s not familiar to me.” At one point, AC/DC’s video Highway to Hell came on the screens. My wife looked at me and said, “You know that one.” Since I had previously shared with my kids my pre-Christ devotion to AC/DC, and how I’m still challenged not to get sucked into their music if I hear it in public, I wasn’t embarrassed by her comment. In fact, it provoked my interest, perhaps in a weird way. As I pulled out my phone, I said, “I saw them at Reunion Arena in the early 80’s.” Then I proceeded to Google “AC/DC Reunion Arena” to see more precisely when I had seen them. Google instantly reminded me that it was February 2, 1982 that I saw AC/DC in concert. I sat on the mezzanine level, stage right, and thought it was the greatest thing ever when Angus Young dropped his shorts and mooned the crowd. What can I say? I was lost.

As I looked over the setlist for that concert and saw “Highway to Hell” (number 11 on the setlist), it suddenly occurred to me that the very next month, Jesus rescued me from the highway to damnation. I’m so thankful for God’s grace and those who patiently shared that with me. I’m thankful for a classmate who had been inviting me to church for a year; for a church youth pastor who didn’t run this lost kid away because of his concert choices; and a preacher who clearly connected the gospel to my heart.  

It’s been 40 years of God’s grace, and it’s only the beginning. “He is no fool who gives up what he can’t keep, to gain what he can’t lose.”