An Epic Legacy by Onyx Conklin
“Let’s don’t let a good thing die….”
These lyrics grip me every…single….time. Last weekend I went to see director Baz Luhrmann’s latest Elvis Presley production called “EPIC: Elvis Presley In Concert.” I was mesmerized, possibly because it was my first show ever in IMAX and Elvis was ten feet tall in front of me! The film was a project that took hours and hours of never-before-seen footage from interviews and concert clips during Elvis’s seven-year tenure at the International Hotel in Las Vegas. We see Elvis’s brilliant showmanship on full display. It’s easy to see why the girls scream with reckless abandon at a single curl of his lip. The movie is so well done that you could easily picture yourself sitting at one of the tables in the front watching those bright sequined jumpsuits flail around as Elvis dances like someone set him on fire. It’s really no wonder that he is called “The King of Rock ‘n’ Roll.” My dad is a huge Elvis fan so I grew up with his music and movies. King Creole still reigns supreme on my favorites list! So I sang along with everything from Polk Salad Annie to Suspicious Minds and marveled at his Gospel favorites such as How Great Thou Art. It was indeed money well-spent. For two hours Elvis sang and I swooned. I mean, how could I not? Remember he was 10 feet tall before me!
One thing you come face to face with is the underlying current of sadness. The film uses only Elvis’s words. There are no other speakers. He is grieved that he never made a movie that was inspiring instead of cheap, silly, female-chasing mayhem. He longed to leave the United States and tour overseas, which never happened. And his loneliness from the moment his mother dies is as tightly wrapped around Elvis as one of his flashy jumpsuits. The man with such power and charisma on stage was unable to break the bonds of heartbreak and at a very young age of 42, on August 16, 1977, Elvis passed away to the shock and grief of the world. He left behind one child—his little girl Lisa Marie. Yet 48 years later, the legacy of Elvis Presley is still going strong. Elvis’ Memphis home known as “Graceland” welcomes over a half a million visitors per year. Elvis tribute artists rank in the thousands across the world, and memorabilia can still be found on everything from sweatshirts to replica jumpsuits. His movies and concerts are still widely available and there isn’t a streaming platform that his music hasn’t graced. The handsome, chiseled jawline, charming, lip-curling, hip-swaying, boy with the dark eyes who could melt a girl’s heart with his rendition of “Are You Lonesome Tonight?” has an enduring legacy that crosses generational lines.
EPIC got me thinking about legacy. We do not know the span of our years, but we do know that God’s purpose is alive and well in us. We have been entrusted with carrying the Gospel—the GOOD NEWS of Jesus Christ to the nations. Some will do that with songs, some will do that with writing, some will do that over a cup of coffee at a neighborhood coffee shop, some will do that shepherding a church or feeding homeless people, or visiting inmates in prison and some will share Jesus in a living room with their kids over homework. Regardless if our platform speaks to the masses or an audience of one, the legacy Jesus is commanding us to pass down far exceeds that of leather-clad, ‘68 Comeback Special Elvis. The Bible tells us in Matthew 28:19-20 “Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.” Jesus will NEVER leave us as we take His Good News on the road. His mission will never retire and his comeback will be something that no one will miss. There are no nosebleed seats in the Kingdom of Heaven. Everyone who believes in the Name and the full sacrificial legacy of THE KING Jesus Christ will have a front row seat to Him. We wait for His return. It will be EPIC!
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Do you live in our near the Austin area? Do you need a day of spiritual refreshing? Then you will want to join us for our Level-Up Austin event on April 25th from 9:30 a.m.-3:30 p.m. at Wells Branch Community Church. Register today at: https://levelupconferenceaustin.eventbrite.com.
