“And now, Lord, look upon their threats and grant to your servants to continue to speak your word with all boldness.” — Acts 4:29

When you’re in the forest, it just looks like trees.

In ancient Athens, Plato told the story of a group of prisoners. They had been chained inside a cave since birth. Behind them, a fire burned, casting shadows on the wall in front of them. The prisoners watched the shadows, mistaking them for reality. This was all they had ever known. One day, a prisoner was freed. He turned around and saw the fire for the first time—harsh and blinding. Then he was pulled outside, into the light of the sun. It was painful at first. Disorienting. But eventually, he saw the world as it truly was. Real trees, not shadows. Real people, not echoes. And when he returned to the cave to share what he had seen, the others mocked him. Some even grew angry. They didn’t want to hear that their entire worldview was based on illusions. They were comfortable in the cave. The first ones to leave the cave had the hardest time. They had no one to guide them. No words for what they were seeing. They sounded insane to those still inside. But year by year, more prisoners noticed the cracks in the wall. More chose to leave. And although some hesitated, unsure whether to believe the man who’d seen the sun, a few took a step forward—toward the painful, beautiful light of reality.

“But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.” — Matthew 6:33