Chris
Tomlin listened, and then paid no attention to the clock. That might be your initial
impression when you hear what he says about “We Fall Down” that he composed on
the spot in 1998 at a Texas summer camp when he was 26. Others in his spot that
evening might have said ‘It’s late, and I need to get my zzzz’s, especially as
I try to ration my strength and help guide these campers the rest of this week.’
But, something struck him about the words or the scene about which he’d heard
from a speaker a few hours earlier. He’d given Chris a staggering picture of
the Divine One’s throne (see it depicted here in a 17th Century Russian
bible), so Chris felt no hesitation about going one step further. He was
already wide awake, so why not rouse the guy who gave him this inspiration?
Chris believed that God’s timing waits or hurries for no one. So, here’s what
he did.
He’d been
writing and playing since 1:00 or 2:00 AM, so let’s finish off the deal, Chris
told himself. Even though it was 3:00 AM, he bravely and confidently knocked on
the door to the room where Louie Giglio was staying…and probably sleeping. Giglio’s
bleary-eyed response to Chris’ suggestion that he listen to this impromptu song
may have given Chris some pause. ‘Right now?’, Louie asked. Chris had heard of this
fellow, and respected and admired him greatly, so what was it that made him so bold
at that late hour to disturb a guy who, after all, probably needed to sleep? Giglio’s
topic to the campers had been Revelation 4 that night. He’d emphasized for his
hearers that Revelation was reality, not something make-believe off in the distance,
but real around the throne of God. It was something that Louie was relaying
from the eyes of John, as he found himself alone on an island called Patmos. To
say it was strange and awesome what he saw would be a bit tame. Bizarre creatures,
unlike any we’ve ever seen here on planet Earth, are there, and what they sing
makes it onto Tomlin’s musical page. ‘Holy, holy, holy’, is all they need to say
in His presence, and a model for what you and I will no doubt be doing there
too. The 24 elders are present, surrounding the throne and laying down their
crowns at His feet. All this was the basis for what Chris wrote, so he’s really
only the secondary author-composer. But, it grabbed his attention in the dead
of night. Chris says this song started a lot of what he proceeded to do in the
next 20 years. Leading worship at a summer camp in Texas was just a preview, and
he did not yet have a band and maybe couldn’t have imagined the career in music
production-performance that would ensue. But, here he was, sitting on a bed
near Louie Giglio at 3:00 AM. Louie’s response was a stare, initially. Then he coolly
said ‘the whole world’s gonna sing that song’. Chris was dumbfounded, and had
only intended to sing it at camp the next night – but, indeed the whole world?!
Wow! Tomlin now believes that God will put you in the places where He wants
you, in His timing, to do what He wants. He provides the platforms, and no
matter what you’re doing in life, He’s got the plan. So, don’t take His leading
lightly, even if it’s 3:00 AM.
The vision
John saw was given by God…for what purpose? To give us a glimpse of something so
beyond our wildest imaginations…something to aim for in our limited lives? We
fall apart all too often in our practice of the 10 commandments, and His
overriding love example. Disappointment, depression, abuse, disease, poverty,
and injustice. Do any of these afflict you and me? You bet they do, or you’re
not sentient, a living being. We just inhabit a place where things go wrong,
all the time. Pandemics, war, dishonesty, greed, and lust, not to mention pride…pretty
common aren’t they? Ask yourself another question: Will the same hold true in
the place John saw? That’s our aimpoint.
See this
link for the story told by the author-composer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l7t4UZYyy7M
See here
for some information on the song: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/We_Fall_Down
Read about
the author here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chris_Tomlin
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