BAD DREAMS
First of all, last night was one of those nights when I just could not sleep. So I got up and read the entire Book of Ecclesiastes. Boy, that’s some book. Listen to the theme of the book: “…here is the conclusion of the matter: Fear God and keep his commandments, for this is the whole duty of man.” Chapter 12, verse 13. That’s how the NIV reads any way. The Hebrew text leaves out the word duty. So it reads there: “…here is the conclusion of the matter: Fear God and keep his commandments, for this is the whole of man.” So I pondered: This must mean that to be whole, man must fear God (be in awe of him [ an attitude, a belief]) and do what God says (behavior).
When I finally got to sleep, around 2:30 a.m., I dreamed. One of those strange dreams that leave you exhausted when you finally wake up.
I was in a play. I had no speaking role; but my actions were very important to the plot. I was to carry something from stage left and give it to someone on the stage and then sometime later bring something else to the stage from stage right. We had four rehearsals and all four times I executed my part superbly. I could hear the critics in the Montgomery Advertiser raving as I rehearsed my role to bring the play to its intended conclusion.
However, on the night of the performance, I flubbed royally not only in coming in from stage left, but also from stage right. I was running back and forth with the cast members mouthing silently, “No, from over there.” I could see them, as I had to enter by going up in a crowded balcony that somehow connected with the stage at the point I was supposed to enter. I was running and frustrated, trying to perform correctly, knowing all the while that I would not have that rave review in the paper. And to top it off, the audience was laughing at me!
So I woke up more tired than when I fell asleep at 2:30 a.m.
What deep meaning was I suppose to get from such a dream? Was there one to be gotten?
I don’t know.
Maybe God was telling me that I wasn’t doing what Ecclesiastes 12:13 said. I wasn’t keeping his commandments 24/7. Maybe God was telling me that no matter how perfectly rehearsal goes, execution of what God wants is hard.
Having thought about all day, however, I’ve concluded that the meaning of the dream was not to expect to see my name in the Montgomery Advertiser until it’s in the obits.
When I finally got to sleep, around 2:30 a.m., I dreamed. One of those strange dreams that leave you exhausted when you finally wake up.
I was in a play. I had no speaking role; but my actions were very important to the plot. I was to carry something from stage left and give it to someone on the stage and then sometime later bring something else to the stage from stage right. We had four rehearsals and all four times I executed my part superbly. I could hear the critics in the Montgomery Advertiser raving as I rehearsed my role to bring the play to its intended conclusion.
However, on the night of the performance, I flubbed royally not only in coming in from stage left, but also from stage right. I was running back and forth with the cast members mouthing silently, “No, from over there.” I could see them, as I had to enter by going up in a crowded balcony that somehow connected with the stage at the point I was supposed to enter. I was running and frustrated, trying to perform correctly, knowing all the while that I would not have that rave review in the paper. And to top it off, the audience was laughing at me!
So I woke up more tired than when I fell asleep at 2:30 a.m.
What deep meaning was I suppose to get from such a dream? Was there one to be gotten?
I don’t know.
Maybe God was telling me that I wasn’t doing what Ecclesiastes 12:13 said. I wasn’t keeping his commandments 24/7. Maybe God was telling me that no matter how perfectly rehearsal goes, execution of what God wants is hard.
Having thought about all day, however, I’ve concluded that the meaning of the dream was not to expect to see my name in the Montgomery Advertiser until it’s in the obits.
posted by Lary Burton at 12:46 PM
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