Eternal truth from an unlikely source

A friend of mine recently attended a conference at Disney World in Orlando. He was surrounded by the oversized cartoon characters, the moms and dads and the rosy cheeked children. He was surprised to find that a concert in the park was going to feature Danzig, a blatantly, unequivocally satanic, death metal band. The black leather, the blood, the skeletons, the upside down crosses are not exactly the sort of thing one would expect to see in the middle of Disney's pastel saccharine. (We're certain that someone at Disney lost their job the following morning.)

Sunday in class we read John 1-4 and we talked alot about how we can remind ourselves that we are living in a spiritual world. How can we hear the message of a spiritual kingdom in a world that is focused on the material, the tangible? How can we remember that we struggle against an enemy that is not flesh and bone?

Glenn Danzig, the lead singer for the band (and The Misfits and Samhain) gets it. He lives a life that brings glory to his master. He expects to receive an eternal reward for his work on this earth. He sings about the spirits that surround us and he clearly understands that this world is not his home. He looks forward to the time that he can be with his master forever. He does the work of his master and he doesn't let anyone's opinion of him bother him. He doesn't let society's mores hold him back.

It sounds eerie when we hear it about satan but it's exactly the same thing that we're called to do. We are called to live like Jesus, focused on the eternal life, focused on the spiritual warfare, focused on the kingdom of God on earth. We are called to ignore society's petty, mortal concerns and to act out our faith in ways that may be uncomfortable to us.

God, give us the spiritual vision to see the warfare for the souls around us. Give us the vision to see your work, the planting and the harvesting that we can do. Remind us that this world is not our home. Remind us that no matter the assaults of the enemy, you've won and you've given us the keys to the kingdom. Remind us that with Jesus' resurrection you made certain our own triumph over death.