Under the Shade of a Tree

Some called you my little four-legged friend. Others called you nothing more than my pet. But, you were so much more than that to me. You were my love. Yours was an unconditional love; an unwavering love; a devotion that could not be matched.

You wanted nothing out of life but to be near me. You would wait patiently for me to come home from my long day at work. Wherever I went, you would follow. While sitting on the couch, I could always find you nestled on the cushion right next to me; not just next to me, but always touching me. When I had chores and activities to do outside, you would always be at my side.

As the years came and went, you grew older, and you became weaker. You could no longer keep up with me when I was outside. Instead, you would lie down in the cool shade of a tree and watch my every move. Your eyes were always on me, never letting me out of your view.

You trusted me. You depended on me. I provided you with protection, food, shelter, and most certainly, my love. But, my love was never a match for yours. The level of my love would often come and go, depending on my circumstances, and on my mood. But, your love was always the same. Regardless of how you felt, you always had me in your sight; whether from the couch right next to me, or from the cool shade of a tree.

On your last morning, I wasn’t with you. When you passed on to the other side of life, you were alone. When I found you, your eyes were still open. You were still looking for me as your last breath was drawn. Your love for me would not permit your eyes to close, even as you struggled at death’s door. Until the very end, you held out hope that you would find me in your sight just one more time. Perhaps I could have saved you. Perhaps our eyes could have met just one more time. Your unconditional love for me was causing you to look for your master until the very end.

Your passing was one of the saddest chapters in my life. In your honor, I wanted to extend one last effort to care for you just as you cared for me. I buried you in the shade of a tree, so that you might forever be sheltered and protected from the heat of the relentless summer sun.

But even in death, you would not allow me be the final giver of love. You found a way to watch over me, and to love me from the other side of life. You see, a tree draws its very being and substance from the ground in which it has been planted. The soil, its minerals, and its nutrients transform themselves, and virtually become the tree. Over time, your body became food and nutrients for that tree. Over time, you became a part of that tree.

Your love for me would not allow you to stay buried in the ground, forever departed from your master. You found a way to continue looking out over the field, watching everything I do. You continue to give me more love than I could ever give back to you. You are no longer lying under the cool shade of a tree; you are creating the very shade that cools me as I stand and gaze down at your final resting place.

Now, every time I stand in the shade of a tree, I am forever reminded of you, and your unmatchable love for me.

Larry Tate
December 2006

A Word From Our Enemy

An excerpt from Shadow Truth: The Ultimate Deception.

My name is Satan, which means adversary. I also have a number of titles, such as the Prince of this World and the Angel of Light. I am on a mission of utmost importance to me. My objective is to conquer, and gain possession of, the kingdom of God.

I have already initiated a variety of plans, tactics, and strategies in order to accomplish this daunting task. In the beginning, I even made an overt attempt to overthrow God, Himself. Through cunning and craftiness, I was able to recruit a significant number of His angels to assist me in that planned coup. To my disappointment however, I found myself, and my army of renegade angels, unable to fight against God.

Not one to easily give up, I redirected my efforts to overthrow God by seeking to influence his most cherished creation—mankind. Since I was unable to conquer God face-to-face, I decided that winning the allegiance of human beings would be the best way to infiltrate and destroy God’s kingdom. I determined that if I could persuade men and women to follow me, I would effectively conquer God’s empire. What else is there other than the sun, the moon, and the stars? God doesn’t care about those material objects. Mankind is His only passion. With them on my side, God’s kingdom will finally be mine.

I have devised a number of methods of deception. I once developed a plan that involved sharing falsehoods about God, His creation, and the purpose of human existence. However, I eventually had to discard that tactic. I discovered that most people would not follow me if I tell them outright lies. Then one day I stumbled upon the ideal way to lure mankind over to my way of thinking. I have created a very effective tactic which involves ever-so-gradually moving the bar of truth into something that is nowhere near the truth.

To my delight, humans have become clay in the potter’s hand, but now I am the potter. They now follow me wherever I choose to lead them. They are like a flock of sheep going to slaughter. I have finally settled on the ultimate and foolproof plan for overthrowing the kingdom of God.

My plan is very effective. It is the ultimate deceit. Mankind won’t realize what is happening to them. They won’t even have the ability to comprehend that I am fooling them into following me. By the time they finally do figure out what is happening, I will have already conquered the kingdom of God and they will have no way of reversing the damage I have done.

What is my plan? My plan goes far beyond just fooling the average human being. My plan is so devious that it is capable of ensnaring even the most devout of Christians. I have learned that God’s followers won’t easily believe a lie, but they are always eager to embrace truth. How can I deceive God’s followers with truth? It is easy. It is sure. It is devious. Like a grand chess master, I will trap them and leave them with no possible move—no way of escape.

I’ve found that the most effective form of deception is to base it on truth. Even Christians will often accept my manipulations because of their eagerness to embrace God’s truth. Starting with God’s truth as my foundation, I have built an operation of deceit. Building on that first foundation, I can easily entice mankind to believe another version of truth. On top of that, I will convince them to believe yet another truth. My plan is so clever; I should receive a prize. Oh, that’s right, I will receive a prize! I will have the entire kingdom of God handed over to me. Without even realizing it, God’s own followers will hand me the kingdom of God on a silver platter. What do I call my ultimate plan of deception? I call it Shadow Truth.

Copyright by Larry Tate

Judge Bans the Declaration of Independence

The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) was able to convince a judge in Kentucky to order the removal of some of our most cherished documents from schools and court houses. Some of the items affected by the ruling were the Ten Commandments, the Mayflower Compact, the Preamble to the Constitution of Kentucky, the Declaration of Independence and the national motto, “In God we Trust.” According to some very vocal secular humanists in our society, such blatantly religious displays send the wrong message to the masses that America has an unhealthy reliance on Judeo-Christian value systems in civic life. Additionally, humanists complained that those documents were designed with the express purpose of promoting Christianity. For the greater good of all, and with the pressing need to eliminate all forms of discrimination against a good but down-trodden minority, one of our judges ruled that we should remove such dangerous documents from public view.

How is it that a red-blooded American judge can make such a ruling? The answer isn’t difficult to find. Members of an unconcerned and uninterested silent majority voted for certain representatives who then turned around and appointed this judge to office. Our representatives and our judges are our political servants. They have been put into office to do our bidding. We, the people have the power to be in total control of our destiny. If we find that our representatives are controlling us, instead of us controlling them, it is because we have permitted them to do so.

To a great degree, this judge only paid attention to one side of the story. Had the Christian majority stood up and made its voice heard, the judge may have decided on an entirely different ruling. Had the silent Christian majority done its part, this judge may never have been appointed to her position of power in the first place. Sadly though, the small but vocal minority is the only segment of our society that is expressing any real convictions. The small but vocal minority is the only segment of our society that is being heard. The rest of us are content to silently sit in our living rooms and permit those in the minority to control us. When the majority is silent on an issue, they are in fact screaming loud and clear that they have absolutely no convictions on that issue.