I want to share something wonderful tonight. (WARNING: It’s sort of long so I understand if you won’t finish reading).
I finally watched the recent movie Les Miserables. Although I’ve read the novel, watched it on Broadway, saw past adaptations of the story on film, and memorized the musical score, tonight, I finally understood the last song “Epilogue”, or maybe tonight I didn’t take the last song for granted, but actually meditated on it rather than just be familiar with it.
It wasn’t a reprise of “One Day More”, instead, the song explained the crux of the matter. Everything we live for, the beautiful, the plain, and the miserable, is one day more until what is truly to come. The lyrics resounded:
Do you hear the people sing?
Lost in the valley of the night
It is the music of a people who are climbing to the light
For the wretched of the earth there is a flame that never dies
Even the darkest night will end and the sun will rise.
They will live again in freedom in the garden of the Lord
They will walk behind the ploughshed, the will put away the sword.
The chain will be broken and all men will have their reward!
Will you join in our crusade? Who will be strong and stand with me?
Somewhere beyond the baricade is there a world you long to see?
Do you hear the people sing? Say do you hear the distant drums
It is the future that they bring when tomorrow comes
Will you join in our crusade? Who will be strong and stand with me?
Somewhere beyond the baricade is there a world you long to see?
Do you hear the people sing? Say do you hear the distant drums?
It is the future that they bring when tomorrow comes!
Tomorrow comes!!!
I finally understood that this song explains that all our plight is a step to eternity, and that is our hope…one day with all the other saints under the banner of God’s love and salvation, we will “live again in freedom in the garden of the Lord.” Then questions in the lyrics give a challenge to all those who will hear, to listen to the distant drums beyond the barricade to “a world we long to see.”
How fitting for Easter. By the blood of the Lamb, we have the most incredible privilege to be called sons and daughters, forgiven, never to be separated with the love of God. And we have eternal life because of what Jesus has given and triumphed at the cross. No matter what we experience in our lives, we can claim that hope and have the assurance that we’ll be among those singing in the everlasting chorus praising the King of Kings.
