Metaphors: I am the Door

June 23, 2024

Pastor Patrick presented today's message, "Metaphors: I am the Door." Here's a video of the message.

The photo at right is from the RedeemingGod.com website.

Patrick did a great job including even Old Testament references to doors, gates, vails, and such (of which there are plenty). The sheepfold with the shepherd at the opening was a totally new understanding to me.

One area not mentioned (so far), however, is that of laws that are essentially metaphors. Laws that go far beyond their literal reading. The one that popped right to mind is found in Leviticus 19:14, "Do not curse the deaf or put a stumbling block in front of the blind, but fear your God. I am the Lord." I would argue that this could be called a metaphor in that the law is not speaking strictly about physical obstacles before the blind or simply curses spoken to the deaf. What it really means is do not mislead or obstruct anyone who is effectively incapable of catching the deception or obstruction.

For example... Just as a blind man has no idea an obstacle has been put in his way and/or a deaf person has no idea anyone has cursed them, the vast majority of customers buying a piece of jewelry with a fancy gemstone in it has no idea how to evaluate any of it, the metals, the stones, or the design and execution value. The jewelry customer is pretty much at the mercy of the salesperson, blind and deaf to the inherent value of the piece. So the salesperson is admonished not to put an obstacle in the customer's way, that is, not to mislead or deceive the customer in any way.

And lest we ever forget, this law, like many others, is followed up by something like "I am the Lord." This is to remind us that the command came from God directly AND that God is always watching how we behave even when no one else is.

Bonus

The American Trinity

Dennis Prager coined the term American Trinity. But the "American Trinity," the core three values of the United States since its inception, has been and remains on every U.S. coin: Liberty, In God We Trust, and E Pluribus Unum.

I think it's best to have Dennis explain this himself in his video "The American Trinity" (five minutes).

I've always linked religion with patriotism, naturally. No one had to suggest or explain that to me. Right or wrong, that's just me. Because of that and among other things, I've always had "a thing" for flying the flag. I think it started with my step grandfather who raised and lowered the flag every day on the flagpole of his New Jersey property. He was a Danish immigrant very proud of his U.S. citizenship. I got to experience the flag raising every time we visited. And I'll never forget his story of one morning accidentally raising the flag upside-down. As it happened, a police officer was driving by at the time and stopped to see if everything was OK. You see, an upside down flag is a sign of distress. According to the story, my grandfather said all was OK but that he was late to work and would you (the officer) please fix the flag. Wow. And the officer happily did so. Wow, again.

The Founding Fathers agreed that a successful and free society would work only if there was limited, secular government and a generally religious population. They often quoted the Bible in developing and then pitching their ideas for a new form of government. Deuteronomy was their most quoted book overall (including secular references).

My love of flag-flying has kicked up a couple notches lately in the form of collecting and flying the various versions of the U.S. flag. I've started an informal webpage to document this new hobby in some way. Here's my USA Flag webpage.

Below is one example, the "Fort Sumter Flag" with 33 stars in an unusual pattern. You can read about it on the webpage just noted above. We visited Fort Sumter last year and helped unfold and raise their very large flag with our California grandkids.

Bonus2

Railroad Chapel Cars

"Chapel Cars" once ran on the rails of the old west, bringing religion, spirituality, and morality "to an untamed world". Here's a video on Railroad Chapel Cars that I did (in 2020) about this piece of railroad and church history from the late 1800s and early 1900s. Sunday services, Sunday Schools, weddings, funerals, and everything in between were held on chapel cars as they moved on the railroad from town to town.

Bonus3

Something to Stand For (Movie)

This is a movie that came out just this week. Here are some words from the Something to Stand For (Movie) website: "Join America's favorite storyteller on an epic journey to the heart of Washington DC. Drawing from his (Mike Rowe's) blockbuster podcast "The Way I Heard It," this cinematic tour de force will take viewers to the frontlines of the American Revolution, World War II, the Civil Rights movement, and more. Part mystery, part history - each harrowing tale tells a story you've never heard, about the patriots who built our country."

In Colorado Springs, it's showing at the Regal Interquest and the Cinemark Tinseltown. It can also be purchased/streamed through the movie's website (link in previous paragraph).