As such, I don't want this to be a demonstration of knowledge. This blog, this site. Thoughts, revelations, ponderings, but not a demonstration of knowledge. Not a hollow recitation of Biblical facts.
Anyways, this morning, I was reading through parts of 1 Samuel. The Israelites were at war with the Philistines, and they decided "hey, let's take the Ark of the Covenant with us for protection."
Over the course of the sermon at New Life on Sunday, PK talked about presumptuous faith, the kind of faith that masks human initiatives with spiritual language (Oh Lord, I pray for a Harley, because you can make something out of nothing for those who love you...).
Looking at the way that the Israelites brought the Ark of the Covenant (where the presence of God was enthroned between the two cherubs, if I remember rightly) with them to battle was like they were treating it as a magic trick.
In the beginning of The Fellowship of the Ring, Gandalf scolds Bilbo, saying "Do not take me for some conjurer of cheap tricks!" I got to thinking about the things that Gandalf did on the journey of the Fellowship, the ways that he used his power. It was constructively. Sure, in the beginning, he brought enjoyment to the little hobbits by a firework display, but the true power of Gandalf came out while he was on the journey, on the mission. In Moria, he provided light in the dark; he kept the Balrog at bay, away from the rest of the fellowship. When he returns as Gandalf the White, he drives the wraiths away from Faramir. Power. Not cheap tricks.
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