*Taken from my journal on 02/08/09 after hearing a phenomenal lesson from Dr. Hemby about the way we respond to the Savior’s cry while seated upon the wall of the Herodian, Herod’s great fortress overlooking Bethlehem.*
As I sit here, looking out from the upper walls of the Herodian and seeing the land stretched below me for miles, I wonder that it wasn’t enough to make Herod feel small. Overwhelmed by the vastness of what is before me; hill after rolling hill, layer upon layer deep, rolling to the edge of the horizon, a great ring around all that is visible of the earth from here. It is like a great crown and certainly one that I am too small to wear. And sitting here, legs dangling, I sense the big-ness of the world and the small-ness of my part in it.
And I wonder how anyone could think himself kingly from here. But the builder of great walls, the master of stone who perched atop these monuments must have gotten used to what he saw. And at some point, the endless miles ceased to strike his heart with wonder and the voracity of his eyes called the whole world his own. And the people who moved beneath him became pawns in his playing. And the cry of salvation that issued forth from a baby’s lips fell upon his ears in folly. After all, that cry meant destruction to the kingdom of Herod. And, after all, the kingdom of Herod was all that mattered in the world…
So how do I respond? When I hear this cry… the cry of the King… the cry of One to Whom my own kingdom must bow? Do I clutch my crown, hold fast my scepter and reserve the right to rule whatever I lay eyes on? Do I fight to keep control? Or do I fail to flinch? Have I gotten used to Him in all His vastness and greatness? Will He find me apathetic when next His cry reaches my ears?
As I sit here looking out, leadership again makes me tremble. For now I certainly feel small, but I worry about how long it will be so. Will I one day feel entitled to that which spreads before my eyes? Will I fail to move when Jesus cries?
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