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The tuba player played his last note, as the percussion section tapped out their last rhythm. Then in one motion of the arm and snap of the wrist, the conductor brought the entire concert band to a perfect ending. As I sat in the audience, out of the corner of my eye, a man in the front row of the audience caught my attention. The man leaped out of his chair, and began clapping and whistling. He had his gaze fixed on one of the players in the band. His delight in the band, and particularly in one person, was apparent to all. Before you knew it, another person, and another person, stood up from their chairs and gave the band a standing ovation. The smiles and delight on the audience's faces were enough to light up a midnight sky. I found myself swept up in the excitement and I enthusiastically joined in. This was no ordinary applause; this was a standing ovation on steroids. You would think we were an audience in a concert hall in New York City. The truth is we were a bunch of parents at a small town high school in the heartland of America delighting in our kids at their year end band concert. And while the band was very good, I have a feeling that if the band had played Yankee Doodle Dandy with kazoos and only got every other note right, we still would have given the group a standing ovation.

The image of the dad, leaping to his feet, giving his child the standing "O" is embedded in my mind. Like many of you, I have been blessed to have a dad who has given me standing ovations throughout my entire life. For everything from my first job, to my first home, to my first kid, my Dad has been there for me cheering me on. For that, I am truly grateful, and at this time of year it is a privilege to return the applause to my dad and give him a standing ovation as well.

For some of us though, the truth is we may not have had a dad who was cheering us on at all our events, or maybe he didn't even show up to the band concert to begin with. Let me offer you some encouragement by finishing my story about the band concert. Well, right next to that enthusiastic Dad who started the standing ovation was an empty chair. My first thought was that "God could be sitting in that chair." He is leaping to His feet and giving applause and encouragement. He is "Emmanuel, God with us" (Matthew 1:23). He is with us at band concerts, He is with us when we wake up, He is with us when we sleep, and He is with us when other people are not. He delights over you, He rejoices in you, and He wants to spend eternity with you. And for all who have accepted Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior, we can all look forward to receiving the ultimate standing "O" from our Heavenly Father when we get to Heaven and He says, "Well done, thou good and faithful servant."