Pompeii, or, How to Live in a Fallen World

Pompeii, by Bastille. It's a song that most of us know. The song reached #5 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart. It has sold over 3.4 million digital copies. Streamed on the radio for over 50 weeks, the song was aired to all kinds of people in all kinds of places. The tune and lyrics to this song have been loved by audiences all over the U.S.A and the U.K. But why?

The song begins by explaining that the world we live in has been tainted, blemished, by sin and hate:

We were caught up and lost in all of our vices.

In your pose as the dust settled around us.

And the walls kept tumbling down

On the city that we loved 

Great clouds roll over the hills

Bringing darkness from above.

It goes on to ask the question, "Can you still remember innocence and goodness?" 

But if you close your eyes, 

Does it almost seem like 

Nothing changed at all?

And if you close your eyes,

Does it almost feel like

You've been here before?

And finally, "What are we going to do?"

How am I gonna be an optimist about this?

I was struck the first time that I heard this song about how closely is resembles the story of Genesis. In the first book of the Bible, we hear of man's fall from the garden of Eden. Why? Adam and Eve ate of the Tree. It seems like such a small thing, but it made all the difference. As a result, we live in a fallen world, with fallen people. This is where Pompeii comes in. The song asks, "We are in such a mess. What are we going to do?" 

What are we going to do? 

This question strikes me as crucial in today's world. We are surrounded by the wreckage of our sin, and yet, we are called to "be perfect" (Matthew 5:48). How does that work? Well, I think that God has instructed us on our path to holiness with this verse:

10 Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his might. 11 Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil. 12 For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places.

-Ephesians 6:10-12

I think that this verse is a perfect "call to action"! It tells us exactly how to battle the forces of evil on earth. Listening to this song while thinking about this verse is almost like reading the Old Testament with New Testament eyes! We see the misery and darkness of our sin, and the aid and relief that God brings us when we fight for Him. Jesus has been crucified, and through his death, we received life. We are "able to do all things through him", including the destruction of Satan. He has not only called us to this job, He has equipped us for it. 

I love the parallels to the Christian life that this song draws (even if they are unintentional!) and I think that it is a really inspiring song, when we add the battle-cry of Ephesians 6 to it. Living on this earth is a battle, and to win it, we need to constantly remind ourselves of how Satan is trying to win us over. In this way, one day, we will triumph over the "spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places", and we will be reunited with the author of all light.

         

For more interesting blog posts posts about a fallen world, and how it affects us, please visit my friend StrongJoy's blog here.

The Undying Lands

          Lately, I've been thinking a lot about what Tolkien had to say about the elves in his novels (which is not surprising, as I am a avid, die-hard fan of LOTR, and don't think about too much else :), specifically in the Lord of the Rings series. In case you have not read the Lord of the Rings, there are a couple main people groups in the series. First, of course, are the men. Men are just like us, human beings. They are quite average people that populate different parts of Middle-Earth. Next are the dwarves. Dwarves are an interesting folk that are known for their small stature and rather voluminous beards (usually tucked into their belts). The dwarves are respected in Middle-Earth as fantastic miners and forgers. They are loud, proud, and faithful to their kin. But enough about dwarves, next come hobbits. Hobbits, or halflings, are little people (about half our size) that live in the Shire. They are quiet, unobtrusive people, who do not like adventures and find great pleasure in food, a good book, and a warm fire.

To the Sea, to the Sea! The white gulls are crying,

The wind is blowing, and the white foam is flying.

West, west away, the round sun is falling.

Grey ship, grey ship, do you hear them calling,

The voices of my people that have gone before me?

I will leave, I will leave the woods that bore me;

For our days are ending and our years failing.

I will pass the wide waters lonely sailing.

          The last people group in Middle-Earth are the elves. The elves are a rather mysterious people. They are tall, slender, beautiful people, who do not die, and who remain a bit of a mystery the whole series long. The elves (as we learn in the Silmarillion, the sequel) were created to live in Tolkien's heaven, Valinor, the land, over the sea. Though the trip to Valinor was not extremely difficult to take, some never went. The rest of their life, though, the elves continued to have a longing for Valinor. The many, many removed children of these elves continued to have that same longing. They simply could not forget it, even after thousands of years. They continued to be drawn to the sea and to what lie beyond it. 

           Anyone who has read the Lord of the Rings knows that the series has many parallels to the Christian walk with God. even though the books were not written as an allegory (unlike pilgrim's progress) it does have a few Christian parallels, like how sin is handed down to us from generations of sinful people, how we are on a journey to destroy it, and how sin takes dominion over us. However, perhaps there are more parallels than just these. Perhaps the elves, who are captivated by the longing for the undying lands, hold some parallel. I may be making a stretch, but maybe when Tolkien wrote about the elves' longing for Valinor, he wanted to mirror our longing for heaven, for our real home. We, like the elves were created for something else, for someone else. Maybe Tolkien mirrored our longing for heaven in the elves' longing for Valinor.

          I guess I just want to make two points: one, that there is always more to a book than meets the eye, and two, do we long enough for God? Do we long for the next world? Sometimes, I think, we get so wrapped up in this world that we don't think about the next one. Are we building up our castles in heaven, and not here on earth? It's so easy to get caught up in the typical lifestyle of just living for our own pleasure on this earth, but when we stop, and remember who we are living for, that can all change. Our whole outlook at heaven can be different. We truly long for heaven. 



There have been times when I think we do not desire heaven, but more often I find myself wondering whether, in our heart of hearts, we have desired anything else.”
                                                                                                                       - C.S. Lewis

Faith Through Trial

Sitting in the car, my sisters and I chatted as we waited for my mom to return from the AT&T store. She was buying a new phone. It was wet and windy outside, but in the car, it was warm and cozy. The minutes dragged on. Heads nodded. All of a sudden, the most unexpected thing happened- sirens flared, and some police cars shot past us. There was an uncomfortable silence. The reason for the sirens, no one could guess.
Meanwhile, as my mom sat in the AT&T store, waiting on the saleslady, an attendant mentioned that a tornado had just touched down a few streets away, and everyone needed to be ready to get into the safe room, if things got bad.
Miles away in Dallas, my aunt and grandmother shopped at the Galleria. They were picking out gifts for my cousins, Georgia and Emily. In Lindale, red lights flashed, and the wind picked up, but they did not know.
At the Old Mill Pond Museum, in Lindale TX, my cousins, Georgia and Emily, were exploring. The two girls ran excitedly through each of the exhibits, looking at old tools, toys, and buildings. After an hour or so, they left, and returned home.
What none of us knew, or were expecting, was that a tornado was touching down right next to our cousins’ home- at that very moment! It was truly horrifying. After discovering the news, me, my mom, and sisters, left the AT&T store, and drove up to the Pierce’s house to check on it. It was like driving into a nightmare. The front yard was littered with trees and tree limbs. No one could actually see the house. Their electric gate was stuck closed. Suddenly, up the drive ran Georgia and Emily. It was so relieving to know that they were alright. There, in the rain, we cried together and comforted one and other.
We were so happy to discover that no one was hurt, and the house was not damaged. I was reminded of God’s hand, which is watching over us every moment. If the tornado had been a few feet closer to the house, and if my cousins had not been detained by their Dad’s issues at work, and my aunt not in Dallas, miles away, things could have turned out much differently.
Over twenty years ago, my aunt, aged 12, was knocked out of a go-cart at an amusement park. She suffered serious head injury, and was sent from the top of her class, back to the basics. She barely survived. Only a few years after that, my would-be-aunt Shawna was killed in a car accident. She was sitting in the back seat, right next to a little baby that she had been babysitting. As her car passed a street intersection, another car whizzed past a stop sign, colliding into Shawna’s car. Both Shawna and the baby were killed.
When we were met by our cousins at the gate, Georgia, age 9, referred to one of these stories. “You know when that go-cart hit my mom? It was a test. It was a test of faith [in God]. This was our test.”
However simply it may have been said, Georgia was right. Over the years, our family has suffered. From strokes, to car accidents; from diabetes, to head injuries, we have not missed out on any of the suffering of this world. However, we have an unending source of comfort and strength. This comfort and strength comes through God. When we think we have suffered more than anyone, we remember the words of Genesis 6:5-6: “The Lord saw that the wickedness (depravity) of man was great on the earth, and that every imagination or intent of the thoughts of his heart were only evil continually. ⁶ The Lord regretted that He had made mankind on the earth, and He was [deeply] grieved in His heart.” When we think that we have no more strength left, we remember the words of the psalmist: 

4 Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death,
 I will fear no evil, 
 For you are with me;
 Your rod and your staff,
 They comfort me.
…
⁶ Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me
    all the days of my life,
and I shall dwell in the house of the Lord
    forever.

God has been our comfort and solace in hard times. He has been and will remain greater than any trials and sufferings on this earth.

Slowing Down Life

Things are really starting to come together! So many little things are making big differences. For instance, my dad bought a mule (no, not one of those spindly-leg horse-like creatures, an actual farm vehicle), my dad has also bought the trees that he will be planting on our farm, my mom has bought a book called Fresh Eggs Daily and two alpaca magazines, already we training for a completely different lifestyle. Anyways, why are we moving from a comfortable city life, to the rugged country, where wall-mart and CVS are fifteen minutes away? The answer is simple, we have caught country-love syndrome! N,o not really. Yes, my dad wants to run his own business, and, yes, living in the country will be awesome; but also, me and my family have noticed that living here in Frisco can really shorten your perspective. Instead of seeking for things such as a good  relationship with God, and true, lasting friendships, it is easy just to look at what we want now. We want the most fashionable clothes, we want to live in a nice big house, we want to be engaged in the most popular activities. In addition to this, it is very easy to give up our lives to all the different places to be, things to do, and people to see, it simply becomes to much! Now, sitting here in my pajamas, I am not saying that living in the country will stop this, it will simply make it easier, as long as we make a point to do so, we can slow our lives down a bit. However, we can only do this with God, if are our wishes are parallel to God's we will succeed! To put what I'm saying in a nutshell, we could all slow our lives down a tad, doing so, we will not only free up a lot of time, but also, we will be able to focus on what is more important than the latest trends, trusting and obeying the Lord.