The Man in Black in the Fischtank

Even if you're not a country music fan you know who Johnny Cash is. His life is an interesting story and this past week John Fischer had an interesting story about him in one of his daily emails. I thought it was worth sharing so here it is. I also included Johnny's last video he did before he passed away. It was a cover of a Nine Inch Nails song called Hurt. This song has quite a message to it and to hear Johnny sing it and to see this video is pretty incredible. Read the column and watch the video and let me know what you think.

Catch of the Day

Johnny's dogs
by John Fischer

Yesterday's mention of black and white Christians reminded me of an interview Johnny Cash gave in Rolling Stone magazine after his "American Recordings" came out in 1994. Towards the end of the interview, Johnny turns the tables on the interviewer by asking him, "Don't you want to ask me about the dogs on my album cover?" The cover is a black and white photograph of Johnny standing out in a field with a dog on either side of him.

"Ah… yeah… sure, Johnny," said the interviewer, "tell us about the dogs on your cover!"

"Well, you'll notice that one is mostly black with a little white on him, and the other is mostly white, with a little bit of black. That's because even the worst of us has a little bit of good in him, while the best of us still can't seem to shake that bad streak. That's why we all need to be redeemed."

What a simple way of pointing out that our relative goodness or badness is irrelevant to our need for salvation. And what a great way to show how the gospel puts us all at the same level.

It's not how good we are. It's never how good we are. What unites us all is simply our need for Jesus. There are no black and white Christians. Only Johnny Cash's dogs.