I don't know much about John Locke the philosopher, so this post won't revolve around him, even though, being a philosopher, he probably would posthumously enjoy it a little bit too much. Idolatrous, even. He, being a philosopher, probably had funky ideas on religion, and I'm sure that his works altered the thought of the revolutionary era of Europe/N. America of the 16-18th centuries. He, being a philosopher, produced stuff in a reactionary fashion: his theory of "tabula rasa," where infants are born without innate ideas, was much a knee-jerk reaction from the reigning thought of the day. (He isn't correct here, reader.) His theories of the mind being based off of memory + perception, nothing more or less, have been recurring themes in many different fields of my study. However, this post isn't about 'im.
This post also isn't about my good friend, Christopher Locke. He would not appreciate it anyways, because he is a wiser man than I, who, knowing that publication and attention and praise can be fodder for pride, carefully guards his heart. His humility astonishes me, and he is a joy to my life. However, this post isn't about him.
This post is about locks; I just thought it would be fun to try to incorporate one of these guys. I'm not. Ergo, no fun is. Pooey.
Why do we have locks? And why do we have keys?
Duh, Joseph. To keep people and things in and out of places.
That's true. But is there not something more to locks and keys than that? Is it a matter of privacy? Of security? Of courtesy? Of separating "in-groups" and "out-groups?" Are they status symbols? Are they paperweights that fall out of shallow pockets? Are they about an ounce or two of metal? Or have I simply forgotten, and locking doors behind me has just become a force of habit?
Well, yeah. Probably most of those things.
Let's see what the Bible has to say about some locks and keys:
"I also say to you that you are Peter, and upon this rock I will build My church; and the gates of Hades will not overpower it. I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven; and whatever you bind on earth shall have been bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall have been loosed in heaven."
Matthew 16:18-19 NASB
When I saw Him, I fell at His feet like a dead man. And He placed His right hand on me, saying "Do not be afraid; I am the first and the last, and the living One; and I became dead, and behold, I am alive forevermore, and I have the keys of death and of Hades.'
Revelation 1:18 NASB
Firstly, just to get it out of the way, the verb Jesus uses for the second half of His promise to Peter is έσται λελυμένον, which is the future perfect passive tense, which is just beautiful. If the English as translated by the New American Standard isn't clear enough (it captures the meaning pretty well), I'll expound: Jesus is saying that what Peter "looses on earth" will (future tense) be done (passive voice) [with lasting result--nuance of perfect tense] in heaven. That's scary. Church discipline is serious business.
Speakin'a-which. Tangent: Calvin says I grow too serious. Rachel's scared of me as a result. But neither of them realize that lots of things (e.g.--discipline) can be completely saddening and completely joyous. It is good and just for a criminal to die for his crimes, but this doesn't mean I won't mourn his sin and its consequence, and that I wouldn't pray for his life and soul. It brings tears to my eyes to contemplate having to spank a consistently and stubbornly disobedient child, but it also gladdens me to think that I can be instrumental in the positive development of this child's character, even if (s)he would despise me for a season.
Locks.
I remember when my cousin Tommy got a new car and handed Barbie the white '98 Malibu down to me. I wasn't as excited as I should have been. But I did begin to wear my keys on my pant belt loop. (It's actually a great way to hold them on one's pants, but to a 17 year old, it was a showcase and a jingle-strut. I anticipate Calvin to follow.) It was a problem. I still wear them there, but that's mainly because I'm not very keen on the idea of being cognizant of my pockets' ingredients. It's almost like wedding planning-- the phone and the sunglasses DEFINITELY can't sit next to the keys. They'd be scratching at each others' throats, nails and all! We'll just put the glasses next to the wallet and the chapstick with the keys. Yeah, that'll work.
Keys.
In fact, when Mom took me car shopping again this year, I got the final word on cosmetic details, AGAIN. Now, instead of picking another white Hyundai, I chose silver. (And it's NOT BECAUSE I WANT MY CAR TO LOOK DIFFERENT THAN CALVIN'S. Insecure much? Nah. I've got better things to be insecure about. About which to be insecure.) I chose silver because the silver Sonata came with a different key-- one that didn't place the emergency panic button directly opposite the "hold-down-for-ten-seconds-to-open-the-trunk" button.
Speakin'a-which: I need to name the Sonata. I was thinking of one of the names of the famous sonatas, like "Moonlight," "Pastoral," or "Tempest," but (thanks to Wikipedia) I've fallen upon one credited to four composers who named it "the F-A-E sonata," based upon the German phrase "Frei aber einsam" (Free but lonely) which was the life-motto of the violinist Joseph Joachim. Crappy life-motto, if you ask me, but the acronym fits with the first thing taught to Psychology students: the F.A.E.- the Fundamental Attribution Error. Basically, it tells students to be patient and don't judge people's character based on singular actions, since they're much more likely the case to be caused by some sort of situational or temporary anomaly. Maybe that guy is late to work, and that's why he cut me off on the freeway. Maybe I shouldn't shoot his tires out.
Keys.
Jesus has the keys of life and death. He shuts one door to some, and opens the same to others. He says that not one of His own will be lost. Ain't nobody going in the wrong door.
Jesus is the way, the truth, and the life.
Jesus is the gate. He is the Good Shepherd of the LORD who lays down His life for His sheep. He sleeps in the gap, so His sheep won't flee from their Safety and so that wolves may not terrorize them.
Jesus is the key of David, who leaves perfected verbs in His wake.
Jesus condemns the Pharisees lastly in Luke's account of His "Woe's!" for "taking away the key of knowledge;" for they "did not enter, and [they] hindered those who were entering" (Luke 11:52 NASB).
Jesus commends the Philadelphians for keeping His word, and promises to place before them "an open door which no one can shut." His promise is guaranteed because Jesus is "He who is holy, who is true, who has the key of David, who opens and no one will shut, and who shuts and no one opens" (Revelation 3:8, 7b).
Thus, Jesus is the fulfillment of the prophecy of the valley of vision of Isaiah 22 and the promise of the key of David to Eliakim, son of Hilkiah, father to the inhabitants of Jerusalem.
But why do we have to have locks??
This post also isn't about my good friend, Christopher Locke. He would not appreciate it anyways, because he is a wiser man than I, who, knowing that publication and attention and praise can be fodder for pride, carefully guards his heart. His humility astonishes me, and he is a joy to my life. However, this post isn't about him.
This post is about locks; I just thought it would be fun to try to incorporate one of these guys. I'm not. Ergo, no fun is. Pooey.
Why do we have locks? And why do we have keys?
Duh, Joseph. To keep people and things in and out of places.
That's true. But is there not something more to locks and keys than that? Is it a matter of privacy? Of security? Of courtesy? Of separating "in-groups" and "out-groups?" Are they status symbols? Are they paperweights that fall out of shallow pockets? Are they about an ounce or two of metal? Or have I simply forgotten, and locking doors behind me has just become a force of habit?
Well, yeah. Probably most of those things.
Let's see what the Bible has to say about some locks and keys:
"I also say to you that you are Peter, and upon this rock I will build My church; and the gates of Hades will not overpower it. I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven; and whatever you bind on earth shall have been bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall have been loosed in heaven."
Matthew 16:18-19 NASB
When I saw Him, I fell at His feet like a dead man. And He placed His right hand on me, saying "Do not be afraid; I am the first and the last, and the living One; and I became dead, and behold, I am alive forevermore, and I have the keys of death and of Hades.'
Revelation 1:18 NASB
Firstly, just to get it out of the way, the verb Jesus uses for the second half of His promise to Peter is έσται λελυμένον, which is the future perfect passive tense, which is just beautiful. If the English as translated by the New American Standard isn't clear enough (it captures the meaning pretty well), I'll expound: Jesus is saying that what Peter "looses on earth" will (future tense) be done (passive voice) [with lasting result--nuance of perfect tense] in heaven. That's scary. Church discipline is serious business.
Speakin'a-which. Tangent: Calvin says I grow too serious. Rachel's scared of me as a result. But neither of them realize that lots of things (e.g.--discipline) can be completely saddening and completely joyous. It is good and just for a criminal to die for his crimes, but this doesn't mean I won't mourn his sin and its consequence, and that I wouldn't pray for his life and soul. It brings tears to my eyes to contemplate having to spank a consistently and stubbornly disobedient child, but it also gladdens me to think that I can be instrumental in the positive development of this child's character, even if (s)he would despise me for a season.
Locks.
I remember when my cousin Tommy got a new car and handed Barbie the white '98 Malibu down to me. I wasn't as excited as I should have been. But I did begin to wear my keys on my pant belt loop. (It's actually a great way to hold them on one's pants, but to a 17 year old, it was a showcase and a jingle-strut. I anticipate Calvin to follow.) It was a problem. I still wear them there, but that's mainly because I'm not very keen on the idea of being cognizant of my pockets' ingredients. It's almost like wedding planning-- the phone and the sunglasses DEFINITELY can't sit next to the keys. They'd be scratching at each others' throats, nails and all! We'll just put the glasses next to the wallet and the chapstick with the keys. Yeah, that'll work.
Keys.
In fact, when Mom took me car shopping again this year, I got the final word on cosmetic details, AGAIN. Now, instead of picking another white Hyundai, I chose silver. (And it's NOT BECAUSE I WANT MY CAR TO LOOK DIFFERENT THAN CALVIN'S. Insecure much? Nah. I've got better things to be insecure about. About which to be insecure.) I chose silver because the silver Sonata came with a different key-- one that didn't place the emergency panic button directly opposite the "hold-down-for-ten-seconds-to-open-the-trunk" button.
Speakin'a-which: I need to name the Sonata. I was thinking of one of the names of the famous sonatas, like "Moonlight," "Pastoral," or "Tempest," but (thanks to Wikipedia) I've fallen upon one credited to four composers who named it "the F-A-E sonata," based upon the German phrase "Frei aber einsam" (Free but lonely) which was the life-motto of the violinist Joseph Joachim. Crappy life-motto, if you ask me, but the acronym fits with the first thing taught to Psychology students: the F.A.E.- the Fundamental Attribution Error. Basically, it tells students to be patient and don't judge people's character based on singular actions, since they're much more likely the case to be caused by some sort of situational or temporary anomaly. Maybe that guy is late to work, and that's why he cut me off on the freeway. Maybe I shouldn't shoot his tires out.
Keys.
Jesus has the keys of life and death. He shuts one door to some, and opens the same to others. He says that not one of His own will be lost. Ain't nobody going in the wrong door.
Jesus is the way, the truth, and the life.
Jesus is the gate. He is the Good Shepherd of the LORD who lays down His life for His sheep. He sleeps in the gap, so His sheep won't flee from their Safety and so that wolves may not terrorize them.
Jesus is the key of David, who leaves perfected verbs in His wake.
Jesus condemns the Pharisees lastly in Luke's account of His "Woe's!" for "taking away the key of knowledge;" for they "did not enter, and [they] hindered those who were entering" (Luke 11:52 NASB).
Jesus commends the Philadelphians for keeping His word, and promises to place before them "an open door which no one can shut." His promise is guaranteed because Jesus is "He who is holy, who is true, who has the key of David, who opens and no one will shut, and who shuts and no one opens" (Revelation 3:8, 7b).
Thus, Jesus is the fulfillment of the prophecy of the valley of vision of Isaiah 22 and the promise of the key of David to Eliakim, son of Hilkiah, father to the inhabitants of Jerusalem.
But why do we have to have locks??
Thanks Joseph; I really got a lot out of that :)
ReplyDelete-Davis
Love the pose man, especially the one part about Matthew 16. Learn new things everyday!
ReplyDeleteAbout your ending question though, my guess is as good as yours. If I had to take a stab at it, I would say that locks are placed so that the ones who are not meant to be there are not there. I would compare it to the lock on your house or your car. You wouldn't leave your house door (or car door) wide open and let just anyone in. Only people who are allowed to come in will be let in. But I'm no wise man, so I digress.