Perspective

Five Minute Friday: Perspective

What the soldiers see:

A giant of a man, ten feet of confidence and swagger. Bronze-covered muscles swinging his beam of a spear. He craves blood; he is soaked with the blood of his enemies. His mocking jeers ring mighty through the air. Always he challenges, and always he prevails. No one can stand before him. They are lost.

What the king sees:

The death of his power. He knows already he has failed. He will fall. The fear that has always lurked within him rages now, and it is all he can do to stand among his men. They look to him and see the terror he tries to hide. They wait. And the longer they wait, the more he feels his shame.

What the giant sees:

A farce. A people waiting for deliverance, though they all know it is ludicrous. He plays his game, knowing soon enough he will crush them. He glories in the fear he sees in their downcast eyes, their silence, their slumped shoulders. He feels the might of his own strength, feels what he is going to do to them. He sees a boy staring up at him, sizing him up, absurdly smiling. Fearless. That look fills him with anger. He laughs.

What the boy sees:

A scoffer spitting out insults against God. His God. The God he knows. The God he loves. Who is this enemy to be allowed to defy the living God? The people of the Lord, cowering. How could this army trust so little the one in whose name they say they fight? How could they not believe their God could crush this beast with one breath? He feels the sling in his hand, remembers the feel of it, the joy of the gift God gave him coursing through his body. He sees his Abba smiling, hears the voice telling him to rise up. The battle is the Lord’s.