Think Supernaturally

One of my favorite churches (I know many) is Capital Church in Salt Lake City. On a regular basis, the pastor, Troy Champs, does a series called, “God and the Movies.” It is always interesting to hear what connections he makes with otherwise totally secular themes. This effort has inspired me to think about two of my favorite movies (or movie franchises) in a similar way.

Many people have tried to draw Christian themes from the Star Wars movies. Although the creator, George Lucas was raised Methodist, he identifies more strongly with Eastern religions, calling himself at one time, a “Buddhist Methodist.” Lucas admits to a strong influence by Joseph Campbell, a twentieth Century Literature professor who coined the term “monomyth” to propose that all literature is drawn from a single human story that transcends cultures and ages.

I believe Campbell was correct in principle; there is only one human story. He was wrong to ascribe the similarities across time and cultures to a pervading secular myth. The “true myth,” as Seth Steele of True Myth Media puts it, is the one recorded for all time in the Bible. The universality of the Bible story rests in its revelation of and by the one Sovereign Creator of all things. The creation, fall, and redemption epic that is the Bible finds resonance in every time and place because it rings true; it is the true myth.

Lucas capitalizes on this universality with the themes he develops in Star Wars. For this reason, it is possible to draw Christian analogies from the films. One of my favorite lines is from the tutor of young Luke Skywalker who has failed to psychokinetically raise his sunken star fighter. Luke says he will, “Give it another try.” In response Yoda, says with uncharacteristic firmness, “No! Do… or do not. There is no try.”

I cannot keep myself from comparing Yoda’s instruction to the Scriptural principle stressed by Jesus when he told His disciples, “Truly, I say to you, whoever says to this mountain, ‘Be taken up and thrown into the sea,’ and does not doubt in his heart, but believes that what he says will come to pass, it will be done for him.” The Lord followed that up with, “whatever you ask in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours.” (Mark 11:23-24 ESV) Do, or do not. There is no try.

Another line from Star Wars always hits me as exciting Scriptural truth. When Obi Wan Kenobi is about to be killed by Darth Vader, he says, “If you strike me down, I shall become more powerful than you can possibly imagine.” Obi Wan knows that the physical body is a hindrance to the fullest expression of what he is supposed to be. If you will pardon my imagination, I can picture Jesus saying the same thing from the Cross. When our Savior’s earthly work was done, He was “struck down” only to become more powerful than His enemies could ever imagine.

This leads me to one more line from a far less popular movie, but one of my favorites nonetheless. The movie is Harvey, which is based on a play of the same name by Mary Chase. Briefly, the plot revolves around human interaction with a mythical creature called a pooka named Harvey. Late in the action, a psychologist who has been engaged to help a poor soul who believes he has been befriended by the pooka encounters his own pookalogical epiphany. Upon making this discovery, Dr. Chumley says, “Fly specks, fly specks! I've been spending my life among fly specks while miracles have been leaning on lampposts at 18th and Fairfax!”

I must agree with Michael Heiser, whom I have referenced before, that, like Dr. Chumley, we enlightened moderns have lost our appreciation for the supernatural. Heiser argues that the original authors and audiences of the content of our inspired Scriptures would have been completely comfortable with the idea that there is more to our existence than what we can encounter with our five senses. The supernatural realm, as Heiser calls it, is in constant intersection with our everyday lives, but we have lost touch with it. We concern ourselves with fly specks when unimaginable glories transpire right under our noses.

I tried to imagine the interaction between the natural and supernatural in my novel, Wings of Mentridar. It was easier for me to picture angelic intervention in the lives of “Bible characters,” than to see it today. Frank Peretti did a marvelous job in his darkness series showing how angels might be playing a part in our daily lives. The New Testament is clear that believers still have occasion to encounter “angels,” or supernatural beings (Matthew 1,2; Acts 5:19; Hebrews 1:7; 13:2). It is narrow-minded to exclude the supernatural from our thinking.

Apart from New Testament reports or fiction, I believe we should all try to have a more “supernatural” view of life. When Paul admonished the Colossian believers to, “Set your minds on things above” (3:2), I believe he had the supernatural in mind. The word “above” is used throughout the New Testament in reference to that which is spiritual as opposed to physical. Jesus counselled Nicodemus that he needed to be born a second time “from above.” (John 3:3 CEV). James insisted that true wisdom comes “from above” (3:17 ESV)

Neither Obi Wan or Yoda can be construed as Christian characters. Harvey the pooka is not a good example of angelic influence, at least not biblically speaking. In spite of that, I enjoy thinking about the “true myth” they represent, and I know my soul is enriched by my flights of fancy into the glory to which we are being transformed (2 Corinthians 3:18). Paul says, ““What no eye has seen, nor ear heard, nor the heart of man imagined, what God has prepared for those who love him” (1 Corinthians 2:9). The movies help me to imagine what Paul says I cannot imagine. I recommend it; after all, we are going to become “supernatural” someday.

The 3,000 Year-old Question

I could be wrong. (Those who know me are chuckling right here.) I could be, but I don’t think I am wrong. When I read the Bible front to back, it appears that God’s program proceeds without interruption for the most part. Oh sure, Adam’s sin interrupted what appeared to be the original plan for Eden, and mankind’s devolution leading to the flood caused a do-over of sorts, and Israel’s failure to be what God intended them to be led ultimately to the Cross and the final solution. But none of these course changes surprised God as evidenced by the fact that He explained at every stage what was going to happen next. In other words, He knew what He was doing. (Surprise!)

I am also aware that at any given point in the redemption timeline, those earth-bound players on God’s stage might have felt that God had lost His way. Adam lived some nine hundred years after being expelled from Eden and hearing the prophecy that his offspring would crush the Serpent’s head. How many hundreds of years did Noah preach righteousness before the flood caused Earth’s reboot? Joseph must have been frustrated by the decades he spent apparently out of the loop as a result of his brothers’ treacherous jealousy. Then his family languished in Egypt for 400 years waiting to return to the land God had promised them. Consider David, who was anointed king, but spent years running from Saul before he finally took the throne. Finally, the nation of Israel, or properly the remnant of the nation, did seventy years in Babylonian captivity, only to return to a diminished national state and sit in silence for 400 years.

I understand that God has His own time table. We are told more than once that with God, a day is as a thousand years, and a thousand years is as a day. Fine. However, it appears to me that His prophets explained what was going to happen in a more or less linear fashion, although it was often cryptic revelation. Looking back from our perspective, it all fits rather nicely, if somewhat drawn out. We get hints of God’s purpose occasionally. In the time leading up to the flood, God is said to have been striving with man; was he hoping for repentance? (Genesis 6:3) The 400-year sojourn in Egypt was because the iniquity of the Amorites was not yet fulfilled. (Genesis 15:16) Paul suggests that the church age will end only when the fulness of the Gentiles has been brought into the Kingdom. (Romans 11:25)

If some millennial theorists are correct (I withhold judgment.), before we reach the end-stage with Eden restored and Heaven comes to Earth, at least 1,007 more years must pass, at which time a final, global/cosmic battle with evil will bring all things to completion. Do the math. In 2018, we stand close to 2,000 years from the Cross of Calvary and the institution of the Church. If the literal millennial theorists’ proposed tribulation started today, there would be another 1,007 years to the New Heavens and New Earth of Revelation 21. Now someone might begin to wonder about God’s timing again.

This might be God’s plan; after all, it is only three days on His divine calendar. But it is a wonder to me that in the popular literal millennial scheme, the Church, which Paul calls the mystery of God, hidden through the ages, is largely ignored, relegated to a parenthetical gap in the imagined timeline. There are those who believe the language of the millennial reign of Christ is meant to be figurative rather than a literal number of calendar years. This places the Church age soundly within Bible prophecy rather than floating in some unnoticed parenthetical silence.

There is something interesting for any who believe Bible prophecy, no matter what opinion they hold regarding the millennium: we are nearing the 2,000-year mark after the Church was founded. I am stepping outside of teaching or preaching here; what I am suggesting is pure speculation on my part. I will not join the likes of those who insist Jesus came in 1917 or those who were disappointed when 1988 (1948 + 40) came and went without the expected events. What I am doing is looking at the broad sweep of Biblical revelation and seeing roughly 2,000-year periods of God’s plan. It was approximately 2,000 years from Adam to Abraham. It was another 2,000 years to Jesus. And it has been 2,000 years since Calvary. Hmmm. I don’t pretend to know God’s mind in this, but wouldn’t it be sweet if we really are that close to the end of the prophecy?

One thing believers of every stripe can agree on: there comes an end. No matter what you believe about how the world will end, all agree that every individual will reach a point when time runs out. At that point, a person’s relationship to Jesus is all that will matter. Those who have chosen to follow Him will step into a glorious eternity; those who have rejected Him will learn that their poor choice has dire consequences with no escape clause. That point in time may be 1,000 years in the future, or it may be one day. To borrow from Francis Schaeffer, how should we then live?

Prisons of the Mind

There are prisons of the mind that are far more difficult to bear than any bars and walls man can devise. Paul talks about being in bondage to sin. You are a slave to whatever you choose to serve. (Romans 6:16) This is so easy to understand. If you lie, you are forced to cover the lie with another and another until you are bound by the lies you have told. Cigarettes, drugs and alcohol clearly bind those who become addicted to their seducing pleasures. It is the same with gambling, pornography, and even video gaming or Internet fascinations. You become imprisoned by whatever you give yourself to.

I am reading a book by John Ortberg called Soul Keeping. Ortberg correctly insists that the human soul, that critical part of our inward being, requires a center. We get to choose what we center our soul upon. Bob Dylan said it right years ago in the song, “You Got to Serve Somebody.” Dylan sang that it may be the Devil, or it may be the Lord, but you are going to serve somebody. There are only the two choices. Anything that is not of God is of the Devil, God’s arch-enemy. There are things like alcohol or video games that are not evil in and of themselves, but when you make them the center of your life, that thing becomes evil, an idol to use Bible language, and everyone knows idolatry is a bad thing.

There are other ways to become imprisoned besides falling into sin or idolatry. It is quite easy to become enslaved by unhealthy attitudes, or stinkin’ thinkin’ as someone once called it. If you were raised by an abusive father or were without a father, for example, you may reject the idea of a good Heavenly Father. Your whole perception of who God is can become bound by your earthly experience. This leaves you outside of His adopted family and His gracious provision.

In the same way, you could be imprisoned by wrong thinking because you were raised in a home where God was discounted, and the philosophies of the world were embraced. This is easy to understand since it was the goal of Darwin and his many disciples to provide the theory of evolution as a way to escape human responsibility to the Creator. Most of us absorbed evolutionary thinking without realizing what it meant.

There are also those who may actually be Christians, believers, who allow themselves to be bound by belief systems that are not Biblical. Paul is especially hard on the people in Galatia, calling them foolish for abandoning the freedom of the Gospel of Christ and falling back into the bondage of salvation by works. (Galatians 3:1-4) This predicament is not unique to Jews. Many believers will assert that they are acceptable to God because they have lived a good life. These people are bound by the false assumption that God loves them because of what they do rather than whom they serve. This kind of thinking can make every day a struggle to be good enough.

Another sort of bondage is related to the idea of salvation by works. You may feel that you are not worthy to be loved by God. Psychologists refer to this as a poor self-image. This attitude highlights one of the strange paradoxes of the Christian faith. It is true that no one is worthy of God’s favor, yet He grants it to all who come to Jesus in faith. You don’t have to clean yourself up to present your life to God; while you were dead in sin and disobedient, Christ came to give you life. (Ephesians 2:1-5) The only people God can save are those who realize they are unworthy. You must nail your broken self on the cross of Jesus and give it up. That act initiates a transaction where your unrighteousness is traded for the righteousness of Jesus, God’ Son. (Romans 4:22-24) That act also qualifies you for adoption into the Family of God, otherwise known as the Church or Christ’s Body. (Ephesians 1:5)

A prison made of bricks and bars is an awful place. But even a person who is behind bars can become free in the most important way, by giving his life to Christ and gaining eternal freedom in Him. Conversely, a person who is walking freely about the world can be imprisoned by many things worse than bricks and bars. Paul reminded the wayward Galatians, “It is for freedom that Christ has set you free.” (5:1) I recommend that you do a “gut check” or perhaps it should be called a soul check. Are you “free indeed,” as Christ promised (John 8:36), or have you allowed something to enslave you. God opens prison doors; you have only to ask.

Worry is a Choice

I confess: I am a worrier. I don’t mean to be, but my constitution is such that I am always living some distance into the future. Sometimes that is a pleasant place to live when the prospects are clearly good. However, when the situation is unclear or clearly bad in some way, I tend to imagine what ill may fall. I rationalize this behavior by telling myself that I am simply preparing for the worst so that I am ready when it happens. I still live by the Boy Scout motto I learned when I was twelve: be prepared.

You can see, no doubt, that this is hooey. What I am doing is worrying about something that may or may not happen. “Be prepared” means taking your umbrella if the forecast promises rain or carrying chains in the trunk if you drive the mountains in winter. My little game of “what if” is just worry in a thin disguise. And worry is prohibited by my Master, a fact that was brought poignantly home to me this morning.

I listened to a sermon from Capital Church in Salt Lake City because I am away from home this Sunday. The guest speaker, Heather Zemple, preached on Matthew 6:25-34. That’s the part of the Sermon on the Mount where Jesus says, “Do not be anxious about your life.” The Greek word translated “anxious” means to take care concerning something, also translated by some as “worry.” Heather correctly points out that anxiety can have chemical or psychological causes that require professional attention. This is not the kind of thing Jesus was addressing; He meant that I should stop playing “what if” with every little situation that does not appear to have a wonderful outcome. In other words, stop worrying.

My rational mind knows I am not supposed to worry. I don’t often harbor worried thoughts in my mind, but my gut does. I tend to center my worry subconsciously in my stomach. It can be quite uncomfortable. At one point some time ago, I was rushed to the hospital thinking I was having a heart attack, only to discover it was my gastro-intestinal system crying out with worry. This is frequently where ulcers come from. I have learned to listen to my stomach and to ferret out the fret that is causing the discomfort. This condition indicates that I have been inappropriately dealing with something that needs to be addressed.

Heather led me to the answer to the problem of worry. It is found in Paul’s letter to the Philippians where he counsels us to worry about nothing, but to pray about everything. (4:6) He follows that admonition with one of the best promises in Scripture: “And the peace of God which passes all understanding will guard your hears and your minds in Christ Jesus.” In other words, worry is a choice; neither Jesus nor Paul would command us not to worry if that were impossible. It is our choice to worry about something, or to pray about it and trust God to work it out. We can choose to worry, or we can lean on God and have peace.

Heather wisely pointed out that this does not mean we will necessarily be delivered from all our troubles. The well-known twenty-third Psalm says the divine Shepherd is with us “when [we] walk through the valley of the shadow of death.” Or as the popular song says, He will be with us through the storm rather than taking away the storm. Heather said if we trust God’s character, we can rest in the chaos. No worries. This does not mean we abandon our duties or escape into frivolous diversions. It means that we press on regardless of the circumstances knowing that God is in every circumstance working “all things for the good of them that love the Lord and are called according to His purpose.” (Romans 8:28)

I received a wonderful confirmation of this lesson today. I have been trying not to worry that we may not have enough money to meet our obligations this month. After the sermon this morning, I confessed my worry and thanked God that He provides for me on a regular basis. When I checked the bank balance to see how far behind we would be, I discovered an automatic deposit that I had forgotten. We are fine, not rich, but fine. Back in Philippians Paul said that he had learned to be content, at peace, in whatever circumstance he was in. I am still working on that. For today anyway, I choose not to worry.

Why Bother with Church?

I have run across a number of people lately, several who are dear to my heart, who have bad feelings about going to church or they have stopped going altogether. The title of this blog is Why Heaven Matters, but today I want to explain why church matters. There is a direct link between Heaven and the Church of Christ, His body here on earth.

The simplest reason why believers should attend church is because it is commanded. The writer of Hebrews is addressing some believers who were falling short in certain areas of the Christian walk, and in the midst of his correction he makes the statement, “Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for he who promised is faithful.  And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works, not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near.” (Hebrews 10:23-25 Italics mine)

The second reason to be involved in church life is also hidden in the Hebrews passage above: “encouraging one another.” Some time ago I wrote a Bible study on the “one anothers” of the Bible; I counted 52 different places where the actual words “one another” appear in the New Testament or the concept is clearly intended. I categorized the many occurrences into five types, suggesting that our sharing in the Body of Christ falls into one or more of these: fostering peace and harmony with one another, encouraging one another, confessing to one another, loving or caring for one another, serving one another, and correcting one another. If we neglect meeting together, there is little chance for these important duties to take place.

If it is not enough to say church attendance is commanded, no doubt because of the many necessary responsibilities we have toward one another, there is one more reason I will mention: worship. I agree with all those who say that one can worship anywhere; in fact, I believe we are supposed to worship everywhere, if by worship we mean demonstrate our opinion that God is worthy to be praised. It is true that one can worship God on the golf course, on the lake, or in the woods. The trouble is that doing that to the regular exclusion of Sunday morning meetings is in violation of a clear command. The Bible has some pretty harsh things to say about people who offer worship to God while ignoring what He requires of His worshippers. Besides, there is something precious about gathering together with fellow-believers and joining in corporate worship, prayer, proclamation of the Word, and don’t forget the breaking of bread (communion) which Jesus also commanded to be done.

I sympathize with the negative feelings I have heard expressed by some. Three of the people I have recently heard from were hurt by people in the church at the very time they should have received comfort. A couple others have found it so frustrating to see little or no growth among their fellow-congregants that they see little use in continuing to attend. One person I know has fallen prey to the popular misinterpretation of our security in Christ, claiming that he “accepted Christ” as a child, and there is nothing he needs to do beyond that youthful confession.

The bottom line is that we don’t go to church expecting to find perfect people. Quite the opposite is true: we go to church because we are all imperfect people needing the support and guidance that the Body of Christ provides. If you or someone you know has fallen out of the habit of church attendance, consider this. Until we reach that glorious day when our flesh is totally redeemed by God’s grace at Heaven’s gate, the Church is the closest thing we have to Heaven on earth. I detest “church hopping” because of petty grievances, but there are plenty of churches out there who are “doing church” in a way that makes it worth attending. If you don’t have one, find one. It’s for your best in the long run.

For the Love of Cats

Everyone who knows me knows I don’t like cats. No, I hate cats. That same group of friends knows I have lived with cats as long as I have lived with my wife (47 years next month). This situation has created many lively discussions in our house, and several times I have sworn that the current feline resident would be the last. I’m still saying that; so much for my sovereignty.

I don’t really know why I hate cats. My father and his father both swore they hated cats; maybe I just picked it up from them. Goodness knows there was never a cat in our house to fuel my hatred. For that matter, the two dogs we had as pets were both outdoor dogs dedicated (supposedly) to bird hunting. I remember hunting twice with the first setter, but never with the spaniel before he ran away never to return. My mother had a parakeet for a short time, but that is the only non-human I remember living in our home.

I’m just not a pet guy. I have said it on numerous occasions: I don’t have enough room in my heart to love a dumb animal that requires constant attention and needless expense. Why bother? I fully understand the unconditional love that pets can shower on their owners with yucky wet tongues and snuggling furry bodies. I’m content to live without that kind of affection. Honestly, I prefer to be without it, thank you very much.

It seems fitting then that I am allergic to cat dander. What, you ask, have I been doing all these years with cats in the house? Sneezing. Blowing my nose. Rubbing my itching eyes. Granted, I am allergic to many other things as well, so my condition cannot be blamed entirely on the cat, but surely the feline-in-residence contributes to my suffering in no small way. Yet I put up with it. Why? Because I love my wife more than I hate her cat.

This brings me to the point of this soul-searching revelation. This morning I read Psalm 36 in my devotions. Verses five and six read, “Your steadfast love, O Lord, extends to the heavens, your faithfulness to the clouds. Your righteousness is like the mountains of God; your judgments are like the great deep; man and beast you save, O Lord.” Man AND beast? I followed a cross-reference to Nehemiah 9:6 and found this: “You are the Lord, you alone. You have made heaven, the heaven of heavens, with all their host, the earth and all that is on it, the seas and all that is in them; and you preserve all of them; and the host of heaven worships you.”

The birds, the beasts, and the fish in the sea rate preservation by the Almighty Creator. It is not coincidence that the last phrase brings up worship. Elsewhere Scripture reveals that, “The heavens declare the glory ofGod,” and “the trees of the field will clap their hands [at His coming].” In other words, all creation worships the Creator. It is not hard to imagine that the Creator loves His creation: “For God so loved the world…”

The Greek word most often translated “worship” in the New Testament also gives insight into the nature of the relationship between creation and Creator. According to Strong’s lexicon, Proskuneo (προσκυνέω), derives from a word, “meaning to kiss, like a dog licking his master’s hand.” Our approach to the Creator as the crowning beast of His creation is “like a [pet].” Epiphany! God views us not unlike the way we view our pets: the greater looks down upon the lesser with love, affection, care and protection. Oh my!

Now I see that if I am to be perfected into the image of my Savior, who came and dwelt among “His own,” then cared enough to give His life for them, I need to cultivate a love for cats. That would make me more like Christ. After all, Romans 5:8 tells me that, “God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” It would be inappropriate to say that God liked us before He saved us. He hates sin, but He loves sinners. I hate many of the things that come with being a cat, but I understand that I need to love the cat in spite of all that.

Sigh! This becoming like Christ thing gets harder and harder. Come here, Sadie; let me scratch your dandered little head.

Where is We?

I’m reading Philip Yancey’s book titled, Prayer: Does it Make a Difference? Page after page, I am struck by his insightful questions, although I expect to be disappointed by the absence of answers. Yancey admits this will be the case early in his ruminations. Still, I am reading on because the discussion about prayer and the examples of fellow-prayers draw me in.

At one point Yancey quotes Walter Breuggmann amid a discussion of the candor evident in many of the prayers we know as Psalms. Breuggmann says the candor is necessary because, “life is like that, and these poems are intended to speak to all of life, not just part of it.” He finds is jarring that modern worship songs are nearly all “happy songs,” a fact that seems to him to be inconsistent with the proportion of not-happy songs found in the Bible songbook known as Psalms.

The presence of happy songs is no surprise given the tendency of many modern Christians to believe that happiness is one of the benefits of being a believer. I discussed this sad misunderstanding previously (see Happiness and Joy), so I won’t belabor the point here except to say that I believe it is important for Christians to learn the difference between happiness versus joy. (Yes, Randy, there is a difference.)

I found myself agreeing with Brueggmann and going a step further: not only are most of our popular songs upbeat, they are almost universally written in first person singular (1PS). Ten of the top fifty Christian songs on Billboard today have the words “I, Me or My” in the title. At least that many more speak in 1PS, though it is not in the name of the song. Of the remaining songs, the majority speak in second person singular (2PS) as they are directed to God. A recent survey by song licensing agent, CCLI, reveals fourteen of the top twenty-four most popular songs in churches are in 1PS.

At first blush, this may not seem terrible: we sing about our personal relationship with God, so 1PS and 2PS are the most likely points of view. “Good, Good Father” is a perfect example: You (God) are this; I am that. There is nothing wrong with that in and of itself. However, if all I sing about is me and God, a large part of what it means to live as a Christian is missed. While a personal relationship with Jesus is essential, that relationship ultimately places me in a body, His Body, the Church.

Immediately someone will mention, “If We Are the Body” by Casting Crowns. But that song is a rebuke, and I don’t recall having heard it sung in church. Certainly, there are other examples of songs that speak to or about the corporate experience of being a Christian. However, as surveys show, they are not predominant by any measure. I suspect that the majority would also be “happy” songs as well.

This mistaken tendency to be self-centered and happiness-focused is not trivial. Jesus said the entire law of God rests on two commands: love God; love your neighbor as yourself. The self is to be taken to the cross daily, Jesus said elsewhere. James counselled that true religion is other-centered. Peter asks us to rejoice in trials. In Ephesians and 1 Corinthians Paul makes it abundantly clear that the gifts of ministry are given to individuals for the benefit of the body, not the individual.

Despite what the Alcorns and Bells of the world say, Christianity is not all warm fuzzies and happiness, at least not the Christianity that is portrayed in the New Testament. The joy (not happiness) we have is the joy Jesus had: He looked toward the joy “despising the shame"[and torture] of the cross. Over 50 “one-anothers” in the Bible call us to turn our vertical love for God into a horizontal love of those around us. First of all, Paul says, toward those of the household of faith (Gal. 6:10).

We need to keep singing those songs about the wonder of our salvation, but not neglecting to remember what our salvation is for. We were saved for a purpose: to love our neighbor. First those who sing around us, then those who dwell in the darkness just outside our church door. They need to know why we are singing.