The story...
PBS television shows, shot in olde England as the backdrop, are compelling for me. The language, vernacular, customs, figures of speech, and steering wheel side are different; yet, similar to what I'm used to. It'd be comfortable there but I expect I'd be attentive and curious about the differences. It'd be great to to tour London and even slog through those really-old hiking trails west of London for a week or so. I'm told those old trails pass through castles, Roman ruins, and farmer's fields too. I'm learning about the territory yet it's not reasonable to claim to know the territory. Even if I complete a trip, I won't know the territory as well as someone who actually lives their life there. The idea reminds me of a song from the 1962 film "The Music Man" that was set in River City, Iowa - "but he doesn't know the territory."
Professor Harold Hill is the lead character who sells the small town on the idea of the "think" system for playing musical instruments. He's a flim-flam man that bilks the town out of money for new band instruments and uniforms - he had no ability to teach them to play music. He teaches them to hum the "Minuet in G" as part of a thinking process that will supposedly lead them to play their shiny instruments without instruction. In reality, he's stalling until he receives the money and jumps on the train out of town. The librarian is the only person in town who actually understands music. She's torn between the reality of the flim-flam man and the wonderful imagined reality that the town's bought into - they're happier and more hopeful following the charlatan. She also falls in love with both the vision and the man too - to err is human.
How will the only church in town escape the trap of trusting in the charismatic pastor rather than their God? Who would want to remain in a "imaginary" condition living the same-old life? The Word of God speaks of the reality of being in Christ - the relationship that actually bears God-given fruit. Once heard, believed, and experienced; they'll be tapped into the vine that produces the kind of fruit that the whole community will be blessed through. Why would a man trust a charismatic man rather than his all-powerful Creator?
Just for today...
"None of us sees the world as it is but as we are, as our frame of reference, or maps, define the territory." Stephen Covey
"The only way to release ourselves from the hold of those dark demons is to break the isolation and bring them into the light by sharing with others who understand." Hope for Today (p. 50)
"I follow him; his shoes really shine - I wanna follow Him; self blocks my view." Am I a Poet?