As many of my friends are quite aware, I am a military Veteran. So, I suppose it is not surprising that I like vet centric stuff, case in point Band of Brothers by HBO. There are six episodes and the last one is entitled Why We Fight. Of course, that is referring to our military, but I would propose there is a larger, perpetual war that started before the earth was formed and will only end when the Creator’s enemy has run his course. One might also say, when the creator says the enemy has run his course. When that will be has been the source of speculation since the creation of man, and we cannot know and to quote my favorite verse 1 Corinthians 13:12”
"For now, we see in a mirror, dimly, but then face to face. Now I know in part, but then I shall know just as I also am known" (NKJV)
So, in the meantime, I believe one of our responsibilities involves going deeper in our relationship with God; the Father, Son and Holy Spirit – one God, three persons. And this is the very nature of the fight. That we:
1. Know we are in a battle
2. Understand the fight:
a. Why there are no bystanders
b. How to:
i. Recognize the threat
ii. Use the tools available
iii. Understand the battle plan
Sometimes, when I write, I wonder if it is really going to make any difference, or is this just satisfying my needs? While we all have some desire for “need gratification” it is better, in my opinion, to have that as a byproduct, not the goal. So, I ask myself why I am writing? With no other agenda in mind I can tell you I believe with all my heart that the more we pay attention to our spirituality, the happier we will be with our present lives and the more secure we will be about our continued existence, and eternity. Non-believers with an Aristotelian worldview would dispute the very essence of that last sentence, as in believing that there is an “eternity” is foolish.
“For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God.”
There are those of us who wonder how others could think that way (?) and are they paying attention to what is happening to man and the world and culture? And how could anyone explain this earth and all that is in it without understanding it is an on-purpose act done by a being beyond our understanding? My personal favorite one of those above is “are they paying attention”. Well, are they?
I really do not think anyone would ascribe the term naïve to me. Look, I realize I have been blessed beyond the norm in many ways. I have traveled halfway around the world and back more than once. I have been in the presence of wealth and power, and I have been in the presence of abject poverty and human devastation. Many of us have witnessed beauty in the form of man’s compassion, heroics and resilience and obversely, the ugliness of man’s inhumanity to man, selfishness and cruelty. If someone has never been told of the war between God and Satan (Lucifer) they can hardly be blamed for not believing, though the truth is there are some who feel it around them without having been told. And just because someone does not know that the war is going on, doesn’t mean it is not going on!!! Kind of like “just because you didn’t know the bus was coming, doesn’t mean you’re not going to die if you step in front of it while its going 45 miles an hour.”
Is it just me who marvels at those who deny there is a battle, or are most of us who feel that this battle is obvious, equally curious of those who seem to be spiritually insensitive? And this is where I feel as if I have come full circle from my previous statement “sometimes, when I write, I wonder if it is really going to make any difference” because those who are spiritually insensitive are not going to be reading this. No, if you are reading this you more than likely one of the “most of us who feel that this battle is obvious” group.
That said, it is also the strong argument for sharing our faith, setting a Christian example – though that is a loaded statement. Overcoming the human conditions of envy, gossip, self-seeking, I could go on, as could we all, is a never ending struggle. And just because I don’t like that behavior, especially when I am doing it, doesn’t mean I don’t do it.
Romans 7 comes to mind:
15 For I do not understand my own actions [I am baffled, bewildered]. I do not practice or accomplish what I wish, but I do the very thing that I loathe [which my moral instinct condemns]. 16 Now if I do [habitually] what is contrary to my desire, [that means that] I acknowledge and agree that the Law is good (morally excellent) and that I take sides with it. 17 However, it is no longer I who do the deed, but the sin [principle] which is at home in me and has possession of me. 18 For I know that nothing good dwells within me, that is, in my flesh. I can will what is right, but I cannot perform it. [I have the intention and urge to do what is right, but no power to carry it out.]
Amplified Bible
So, overcoming the aforementioned condition is not for the tyro. Yet anyone who claims the name of Jesus as their savior and model for living puts themselves in the light of being their best – at all times. The colloquial “how’s that workin’ for ya” and “good luck with that”, come to mind. (refer to Romans 7:18, above)
But this is why we fight, is it not? There is a battle going on, and you are in it. We are all in it. We fight for the same reason we understand the above passage. The enemy wants to take advantage of that in-dwelling condition to bring us to his side of the fight. The Satan is trying to get us to give up, or at least not try to live God’s way, or tell others of the joy it is in knowing Him.
Remember God wins this war, Revelations 22 paints the picture of the victory. It is up to us to continue our part in the fight.
