"It may take time, and require repeated provocation, but eventually a man must come to realize that there are certain things in life worth fighting for. Perhaps, when we appreciate the truth of this, we can better understand the heart of God... Our God is a warrior, mighty and terrible in battle, and he leads armies. It is this God that man is made in the image of. I spoke of this in Wild at Heart, but some things bear repeating, because a man will be in a much better place to enter the stage of the Warrior if he knows this is thoroughly grounded in Scripture, supported by Scripture, compelled by Scripture."
For some reason the Church usually refuses to acknowledge this reality. War and fighting are seen as evil, and while I'll admit the fact that war is a terrible thing, we can't escape the reality that it exists in the world we live in. And because of that we must embrace the truth of Exodus 15.3, "The LORD is a warrior; the LORD is his name."
God stands for truth and justice; He fights for righteousness and holiness. He doesn't back down from a fight, instead He leads His people into battle. "Our God is a Warrior because there are certain things in life worth fighting for, must be fought for. He makes man a Warrior in his own image, because he intends for man to join him in that battle."
Men, we were made for war. We have strength and power so that we can be dangerous on the battlefield. We cannot run from this truth and hide, pretending that it doesn't exist or hoping that it will go away if we ignore it. If we don't take a stand, then we allow evil to trample all that is good.
"There are certain things worth fighting for. A marriage, for example, or the institution of marriage as a whole. Children, whether they are yours or not. Friendships will have to be fought for, as you've discovered by now, and churches, too, which seem bent on destroying themselves if they are not first destroyed by the enemy who hates them... Take anything good, true, or beautiful upon this earth and ask yourself, 'Can this be protected without a fight?'... Sometimes the battle has to strike close to home in order to rouse the Warrior in a man. Perhaps that is why God often allows it to strike so close to home."
What makes you angry? What breaks your heart? What are you going to do about it? Will you take a stand or sit down? Evil is a very real thing, and it has already corrupted so much because men have refused to be warriors. "Evil typically doesn't yield its hold willingly. It must be forced to surrender, or be destroyed." It takes a warrior to fight a battle. Only a warrior can emerge victorious.
Think about Gladiator. In the extended edition of the movie during the scene where Maximus is cutting out his Legionnaire tattoo we learn that one of the slaves is a scribe, he talks about how he can speak seven languages. The next day the gladiators are paired up and sent into the arena, guess who one of the first guys killed is? And guess who survives the battle?
Men, we must embrace the fact that we are made in the image of a warrior God, and called to be warriors fighting at His side. If we don't then we'll just helplessly watch all that is good and beautiful be corrupted and destroyed before we ourselves are killed by the same evil.
The battle rages all around us, lets arm ourselves, and join the fight.
"Iron sharpens iron, so one man sharpens another."
To God alone be the Glory!
Strength and Honor
No comments:
Post a Comment