Tell Tale Heart Christian Remix

“The Tell-Tale Heart” was a titillating and painstakingly dark short story written by Edgar Allen Poe in 1843. It is one that haunted me like none other when I was a teen. I encourage you to read it again as a guide to this column. To summarize, it is the story of a man who kills an old man specifically because he had a creepy eye that looks at him too much. After killing the man, he cuts off all his limbs and head and buries him under the planks in his own house. It is the perfect crime with no evidence of struggle, no witnesses, and a perfect disposal area for the carcass. The problem…the killer’s ears. Let me explain. Shortly after the gruesome event, he begins to hear heartbeats. He becomes more and more acutely aware of the sound (and less and less sane in the process) until he finally freaks out and confesses his perfect crime to the authorities who had paid him a visit. Good grief, what is the corpulent writer placing this bunk in the church section this week, you might rightfully ask? You probably already know. I want to talk to you about my Savior.
I want to address this piece to two groups of people with slightly different spins for each. The first group of people I want to address is my Atheist friends. (Yes, I do read emails.) There are a couple lessons to learn from the Tell-Tale Heart Christian Edition. I believe firmly that most of my atheist (no God whatsoever) friends are truly agnostic (believe in possibility of God in some impersonal form). What I want to address with you today is the reality of what’s at stake if you are wrong. When you walk outside and see the complexity of nature, the ripples on the Stockton Lake when the wind spikes, and the fall leaves changing into crimson red, do you hear it? Thump thump. Thump thump. Thump thump. Thump thump. When you consider the human eye and the hundreds of millions of cells required to see a mountain, needless to say see a corn flake. Do you hear it again? Thump Thump. Thump Thump. It appears to be louder. When you see the lack of transitional forms in nature and in the fossil record clearly necessary to prove evolution as an alternative to God and, with the same complex mind, try to explain where the material came from that composed “the Big Bang”, you can really hear the pulse now. The thumping is deafening now. The bottom line is apparent. You desperately want to believe in anything but God because you have something in your life you think is hidden from God that you don’t want to give up. I suspect it is for you what it was for me… a glaring sin or variety of sins that are too good (for a season) to give up (Hebrews 11:25). Maybe you think you are too far gone to ever be forgiven? Regardless, you seek to end the thumping sound. Two options. One…Investigate where the sound is coming from (i.e. your conscience). Two… redo the floors with hyper shag carpet to drown out what you hear. Option one folks… Hebrews 9:27-28a says “Just as man is destined to die once, and after that to face judgment, so Christ was sacrificed once to take away the sins of many people;”. We will all individually stand before God as our Judge some day. Our right response to Jesus Christ alone (John 14:6) will determine our fate. Email me when you are ready to talk. If that doesn’t sound good, read the Gospel of John with an open mind and email me with questions. Option two folks…I would call Lakeside Interiors to see what sound-insolating flooring is offered. They have it all at a great price, but I doubt it will drown out the thumping of your conscience.
The second group I want to deal with is Christians. The thumping sound we hear is a slightly different tone, yet sobering all the same. The sound we hear beneath the floor of our house is that of God knocking at our calloused hearts. God sees our secrets. Nothing is hidden from Him. 2 Chronicles 7:14 says with unrivalled thumping “if my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then will I hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and will heal their land.” We have become a stumbling block to many and an excuse to others. Join me and my church in taking a realistic and humble look at our heart. Evaluate your message. Do you teach that God will give you a new car if you become a Christian? Plant a seed, reap a reward? Paul got plenty of rewards for his years of missionary service. He was beaten, shipwrecked, beaten some more, imprisoned in stocks (while singing all the way), and beaten a few more times. Did he die rich? Define rich! Eye of a needle rich? Rich young ruler rich?
Do you teach that what you do will get you to Heaven? Ephesians 2:8-9 says “For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— not by works, so that no one can boast.” God clearly saves us despite what we do, not because of what we do. Jesus Christ died as a sub for our sin debt…can we possibly add to that without rendering His death in vain?
Do you teach that the Bible is flawed? 2 Timothy3:16-7 says the Bible’s opinion of itself saying “All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.” Is a God big enough to create the world and its complexities able to keep His central message of Salvation (that He sent His only Son to die for) to His people? Did the One who created the duckbill platypus get stumped on how to communicate with us through His Word? Pray and Fast before you rewrite God’s message…the consequences are harsh. (See Rev 22:18 for a smidget).
We desperately need to humble ourselves before God and ask for forgiveness for our many failings. We must pray for our church and our neighboring Bible-believing churches. We must turn from our sin. We are far too often no better than before we were “saved”. (FYI This, for someone “born again” is not possible…see 2 Corinthians 5:17). We must value our Salvation again. Our time is almost up. Thump Thump, Thump Thump. Be much more afraid when the thumping stops.
Please consider what I have said today. I love each and every one who reads this column. Lest you not fully realize the obvious, I am far from perfect as well. I am not judging you. Hey, I hear the thumping sound too. The time to respond is today, before it is too late. God Bless!