Surround Sound

Fifty years ago when people went to a movie, the sound came from behind the screen or perhaps from either side of it. Today the sounds of the dialogue and the action completely surrounds us; it comes from every direction. We are completely immersed in the sound which comes to our ears from more points than if we were in an actual situation.

All Saints Day is celebrated on the first Sunday in November at Sardis. Worship includes surrounding ourselves with the memories of loved ones who have died during the preceding year. We honor their memory and recall the example they set for us, as well as remembering the debt we owe to them for the influence they have been in our lives.

Remembering those who have gone before helps to remind us that we are not alone, that God's grace will sustain us. Hebrews 12:1 encourages us with the assurance that we are surrounded by a great cloud of witnesses. Those who have preceded us in death are not just spectators of our lives, but are witnesses to the faithfulness of God.

The heroes of the faith, both personal and corporate, still speak to us as we remember what they said or read what they wrote. We are surrounded by the cloud of saints in our daily lives as surely as we are surrounded by mists on a foggy morning drive. Or as surely as we are surrounded by sound in our local movie theater.

Whose voices do you hear encouraging you as you cope with the living out of today?