Attention is all God needs of us

There's nothing quite like an explosion to get your attention.

A few Saturday evenings back, I was in our church fellowship hall printing the bulletins for the following day's service when I heard something that sounded like artillery fire.

I looked out a rear window and caught the glow of fireworks. They were staging the fireworks display on the Savannah River at the Thunder Over Augusta festival in honor of Armed Forces Day.

I finished up what I was doing and walked outside. Instead of heading home, I walked a block or so down Ellis Street so I could get a better view of the display.

Every now and then, an especially loud boom would set off burglar alarms. You'd hear the explosion, and then you'd hear this sound like your alarm clock going off in the morning. Except you could hear it from several blocks away.

Some of the young folks at Sector 7G, a small music hall across Ellis Street from the church, were outside, too, watching. Down on the sidewalk behind the Georgia Department of Labor, a small group of teenage girls sat and watched -- and listened.

Not far from where I was standing, an older gentleman stood -- and watched -- and listened. We all took in the fireworks.

It didn't matter how old any of us were. Our gender didn't matter. It didn't matter where we had been or what we had been doing before the fireworks started, or how we had gotten to where we were. It didn't matter how much money any of us made. Those fireworks were there for everybody. All you had to do was look up -- and watch -- and listen.

That's how it is with God's love. It's there for everybody, and it's easy to find. All you need to do is look up. And listen.

The Rev. Charles Cochran is the pastor of First Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) in downtown Augusta.