The Man Upstairs

I'm not on a Peyton Manning bashing session but after endorsing his desire to go and drink a lot of Budweiser he then wanted to thank the "the man upstairs."It is my intention to set the record straight for Manning and every glib celebrity who says the same thing in the spotlight. He is not the first to use this phrase. He probably will not be the last to say the same thing.

I'm bothered by this on several levels. First and foremost it shows no respect, no fear and no reverence for the Lord what-so-ever. God is not a man upstairs. Jesus the God man was present at creation. Colossians 1:13-17 (NASB) 
¹³  For He rescued us from the domain of darkness, and transferred us to the kingdom of His beloved Son,
¹⁴  in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.
¹⁵  He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation.
¹⁶  For by Him all things were created, both in the heavens and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities—all things have been created through Him and for Him.
¹⁷  He is before all things, and in Him all things hold together.

Jesus is the God-man. I do not think Manning was thinking this when he referred to God as the man upstairs. Jesus is fully God. Read the whole first chapter of Colossians for more. Yes, He also lived fully as a man. He still was and still is God.   Not just a man. He is Jesus, Lord of all, Savior, Prince of Peace, King of Kings, The Lamb of God and The Alpha and Omega. The name of Jesus is above every other name. At His name every knee will bow and every tongue will confess that He is Lord. Philippians 2:9-11 (NASB) 

⁹  For this reason also, God highly exalted Him, and bestowed on Him the name which is above every name,
¹⁰  so that at the name of Jesus EVERY KNEE WILL BOW, of those who are in heaven and on earth and under the earth,
¹¹  and that every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

Jesus is not upstairs. He is not living on the second floor of an apartment complex. He is not residing on the second floor of a home. He is everywhere. He rules over not just the earth but the heavens and the universe as well. 

Jesus is bigger than a football player, a football career and even the Super Bowl. One day Peyton Manning will be nothing but an afterthought. He will appear every now and then like Joe Namath delivering the Lombardi Trophy to the platform last night. JESUS WILL REIGN FOREVER. HE WILL NEVER BE FORGOTTEN. 

In the day of judgement Peyton will discover a very different Jesus than the cliche of the man upstairs. He will discover a Righteous Judge very unimpressed with his football stats, MVP's and millions of dollars. On that day the only hope Peyton Manning or any other lost person will have is if he repented of his sins and wholly cast his faith on Jesus alone for salvation. Jesus is no childhood chum. He is no passing casual acquaintance. JESUS IS LORD. HE IS LORD OF ALL. Not the man upstairs.