Charles had become good at crawling in the shadows. He had been doing so for some time. When you are behind enemy lines, you keep your head down and you stay low.
It was unclear how he got there. But the landscape did not lie. He was in enemy territory.
The thought of getting caught terrified Charles. He had heard the stories of what they did. He must not be found out. He had to blend in. It was difficult to do so. In fact, it was becoming increasingly difficult to do so.
Enemy soldiers seemed everywhere. They were on high alert. They had heard about Charles. They were on the lookout. It was a high-stakes game of “hide-and-seek.”
Sometimes Charles had to be out in the open. There was no getting around it. He had become quite ingenious in those times. He would dress like the enemy. When he had to talk, which he did not have to do often, he had learned how to talk like the enemy. In fact, he did a good impersonation of the enemy.
But soon as he was able, he would slip back into the bushes into his familiar crouch. Dirty knees and dirty hands were not pleasant but you did what you had to do to survive when you are behind enemy lines.
The day began for Charles like the others. He had his mental checklist. He would even quietly mouth it to himself: “Charlie, remember these things. Stay down. Stay low. Stay calm. Don’t let them find you. Survive another day.”
But at twilight, when day and dark kiss, Charles found himself more comfortable to explore. His hope was to make it back someday to his own land if he could. It least that was his hope.
As he made his way in the glooms, pushing aside limbs, he brushed up against a post. “Funny,” he thought, “Why a sign post here? Who would see it?”
Curious, looking this way and that, he carefully stood to read. Wiping away the years of neglect, the words began to appear. And when they did, he could not believe what they said.
Now standing tall, not minding if he was discovered, he came out from the shadows. He was no longer hidden at all. There he was for all to see. He then headed for the busy public square.
And why would he not? His back to the signpost as he made his way, Charles emboldened by what it said, courageously strode down the street amongst those he had previously feared.
The sign? What did it say? Just two words, “King’s Kingdom.” Charles was never behind enemy lines. He had been home all the time. His King owned the place. That truth changed everything. And he was now determined to live like it.
“For he who has ears to hear, let him hear” (Matthew 11:15).
Pastor Rich Hamlin
January 21, 2021