A Sound In The Trees

2 Samuel 5:
23 So David asked the Lord for advice. The Lord answered, "Do not go straight up. Instead, circle around behind them. Attack them in front of the balsam trees. 24 Listen for the sound of marching in the tops of the trees. Then move quickly. The sound will mean that I have gone out in front of you. I will strike down the Philistine army."


I've been remiss about blogging. Actually, suffering from blogger-block and too much going on right now (not to mention ice storms).

I've been discussing the arts and Christianity with some e-mail buddies. Seems the church universal dropped the ball on media. And maybe that was just as well. If we were propagating the wrong message maybe it is best we didn't master the medium. Besides, we weren't interested in the medium as much as the message: and the message has been divisive. How can you divide your audience and expect to win them?

I'm seeing, I think, a glimmer of hope. What would happen if we got the message right? What if the world out there perked up when they heard about Jesus? What if He was no longer the enemy of all reason, the state, and the people? What if He wasn't so monstrous and scary any more? What if it suddenly dawned on people that He is the actual, unadulterated, unmitigated savior of the world? What if what we projected and broadcast to them actually was good news?

I've been blogging much of 2007 and just kind of hashing out my favorite subjects. In the interim I have changed. There has been a spiritual paradigm shift in my whole consciousness. It hasn't changed me on the outside. In fact, I got a little fatter this year staying home a lot and caring for my Dad who, at 93, is in the throes of dimentia.

In fact, dimentia taught me something. It taught me about the value of life. What we accomplish is almost meaningless in relation to this temporal sphere. Whatever my Dad was trying to do in life, whatever gains he tried to make, whatever successes he had, he can't remember them now. His brain is practically dead, even while he lives. And it tells me, when death comes, it all passes away. For him, it has all passed, and he is still alive. He is living testimony that not much of what we do matters.

But Jesus said it does matter. He said, "Lay treasures up in heaven." Well, how do we do that? By giving to Benny Hinn? Benny thinks that's a good idea. The fact is, our lives are on a trajectory and laying up treasures is part of that.

With the Advent of Christ, mankind is headed for the Kingdom. We who come into this blessed hope in this life are now helping to further that goal of God. But we haven't really realized it or been taught it. Instead, we've been trying to coerce people into Christ. That's different than what Paul meant when he said, "I caught you with guile" or "Knowing the seriousness of God we persuade men." That was King James. The NIV Reader's Version puts it this way:

1 Cor. 5: 11 We know what it means to have respect for the Lord. So we try to help other people to understand it.

How can we help people understand it if we don't really know what it is?

What if we did begin to understand it? What if it suddenly dawned on millions of Christians that we have been preaching a crippled gospel? That would have to come from God for such a time as this, when church credibility and relevance are at an ebb. Then our whole approach to our common faith would take on a radical new look. Suddenly, Jesus would not just be some imaginary monarch to the masses, He would be the hero of history, the fixer of everything.

Do I hear a sound in the balsam trees?