Play all audios:
The Singer woke at midnight. In the stupor of half-consciousness-neither quite aware nor yet asleep-he was alone. The air was full of moans. With groans of grief and pity, the night was
crying. He had never heard the darkness cry before. Advertise on TGC “Where are you, World Hater?” he shouted. “Standing in the doorway of the worlds-reveling in my melodies of ugliness and
death.” The Singer listened. The morbid air depressed him and he could not help but weep himself. He ached from the despair. “How long have they cried beyond the doorway of the worlds?” he
asked. The World Hater seemed to summon up the volume of their moaning and then he shouted, “They’ve moaned a million years-It never stops. They hurt with pain that burns and eats the
conscience-illuminating every failure. They never can be free. Crying is the only thing they know.” “Poor souls! Have they nothing to look back upon with joy?” the Singer asked. “No. Nor
anything to look forward to with hope.” “Could they never give up suffering for one small moment, every thousand years or so?” “No. Never. They ache in simply knowing they will never cease
to ache.” “I’m coming to the Canyon of the Damned you know.” “You dare not think that you could sing above their anguished dying that never will be dead.” “You’ll see, World Hater. I will
come.” “It’s my domain!” the Hater protested. “You have no domain. How dare you think that you can hold some corner of Earthmaker’s universe and make it your own private horror chamber!” “It
is forever, Singer!” “Yes, but not off-limits to the song. I’ll smash the gates that hold the damned and every chain will fall away. “I’ll sing to every suffering cell of hate, the love
song of my soul. “I’ll stand upon the torment of the Canyon of the Damned.” The troubled air grew still. The World Hater stepped outside the universe-pulled shut the doorway of the worlds.
And Crying softly slept with Joy. – Calvin Miller, _The Singer: A Classic Retelling of Cosmic Conflict_ TREVIN WAX is vice president of research and resource development at the North
American Mission Board and a visiting professor at Cedarville University. A former missionary to Romania, Trevin is a regular columnist at The Gospel Coalition and has contributed to _The
Washington Post_, _World_, and _Christianity Today_. He has taught courses on mission and ministry at Wheaton College and has lectured on Christianity and culture at Oxford University. He is
a founding editor of The Gospel Project, has served as publisher for the Christian Standard Bible, and is currently a fellow for The Keller Center for Cultural Apologetics. He is the author
of multiple books, including _The Thrill of Orthodoxy_, _The Multi-Directional Leader_, _Rethink Your Self_, _This Is Our Time_, and _Gospel Centered Teaching_. His podcast is
_Reconstructing Faith_. He and his wife, Corina, have three children. You can follow him on Twitter or Facebook, or receive his columns via email.