Sheriff John

“….in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed heir of all things, and through whom he made the universe.”  Hebrews 1:2

Sheriff John died Saturday. For most of you, that statement will mean very little.  However if you are my age or even a little older, and you grew up in Southern California, that statement might mean a lot.  Most of us, you see, grew up watching the Sheriff John Show.

John Rovick was 93 when he died on Saturday in Boise.  Another part of my childhood passed with him. But he died having instilled a basic set of morals, honor and even simple hygiene on a whole generation of Southland children (ok, maybe our parents helped out a little bit). Now, I really don’t know much about Rovick, except what I can remember of his show.  I was even a bit amazed that he was even still alive.  He might have been a man of great faith.  He might have been a man of no faith. That I don’t know.

Hebrews 1:2 reminds us that all people are ultimately under the reign of the one who was “appointed heir of all things.”  And that reign includes his gifting of all people some measure of grace to do good.  In Reformed theology, this is called “Common Grace.”  My non-Reformed friends might call this an aspect of “Prevenient Grace.”

John Rovick in his show displayed a great measure of Common Grace.  For 18 years (1952-1970) he was used to do good.  For that I am thankful.  Maybe remembering him might remind me to look for the Common Grace in more things and through more people. Admittedly, I do find my view of humanity getting more jaded as I get older.  Maybe it’s because Sheriff John has become such a distant memory.  I need to be reminded.  And rejoice when I see goodness.

In the meantime, I’ll just sing a line with John from the show; “Put another candle on my birthday cake….”  And patiently wait to see if the good Sheriff has my name on his birthday list.

Here is a link to a brief bit of my childhood....