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“Elvis Has Left The Building” — And So Will We!

In 2002 at the age of 86, Horace Lee Logan passed away. For those folks who are not country music fans, Mr. Logan was a popular disc jockey in the 1940’s and 50’s, who hosted a program called the “Louisiana Hayride.” The “Hayride” helped popularize a number of country music’s biggest stars, including Hank Williams Sr., Johnny Cash, and a Tupelo truck driver named Elvis Presley. At a 1956 “Hayride” performance, the audience refused to empty Shreveport Memorial Auditorium following an appearance by the soon-to-be “King of Rock ‘n Roll.”

In an effort to quiet and disperse the crowd, Mr. Logan stepped to the microphone and uttered a sentence that would quickly become the stuff of legend — “Elvis has left the building” (also see origin).

In death, Elvis permanently “left the building” in 1977, as did the man who coined the infamous phrase in 2002. Friends, the day will come for each of us when we too will “leave the building” (Hebrews 9:27). Most of us will depart this life without the fanfare that attended (and to this day, still attends) the death of Elvis Presley. We may not even rate the brief mention in the press afforded a minor celebrity like Horace Lee Logan.

Perhaps only our immediate family members and a handful of friends will note the fact that we have “left the building.” But leave it we will. We would like to think (and many do), that we will live on earth forever, but both Scripture and history teach us otherwise (Ecclesiastes 9:3).

Whether rich or poor, famous or unheralded, royalty or beggar — everyone “leaves the building” when his or her appointed time arrives (Hebrews 9:27). None of us can change this immutable fact. As Solomon notes — “No one has power over the spirit to retain the spirit, and no one has power in the day of death” (Ecclesiastes 8:8). We all know that end is coming, but very few of us have any idea when.

People of all ages die — some in the prime of life, others in the twilight of advancing years, and still others in extreme old age (a visit to the local cemetery will prove this statement to be true).

Which above category will we fall in? God only knows. The only facts we can state with certainty are — we haven’t died yet, and we aren’t dead right now. However, for every moment yet future, the verdict is still unregistered.

No one lived with a greater consciousness of the impending end of life than Jesus did. He often spoke of His impending death with His disciples, and used this knowledge as a powerful motivator (cf. John 9:4). Jesus fully understood what the Ecclesiastes writer meant when he wrote, “Whatever your hand finds to do, do it with your might; for there is no work or device or knowledge or wisdom in the grave where you are going” (Ecclesiastes 9:10). When we “leave the building,” we leave behind all opportunity to alter what we’ve done while we’ve lived here.

Dear reader, Elvis has indeed “left the building” along with Horace Lee Logan. And someday, (perhaps sooner than we think), all of us will have “left the building.” If we were called by God to “leave the building” today (cf. 2 Kings 20:1), where would we find ourselves? Would we lift up our new found spiritual eyes at rest, or in torment? (Luke 16:19-31).

Won’t you please consider rendering obedience to the Lord today (Matthew 7:21; Romans 10:17; Acts 17:30; Romans 10:9-10; Acts 2:37-38), making your “final destination” heaven? (cf. 1 Peter 1:4).