We live in a war zone.
Mankind’s enemy, Satan, is real.
Jesus knew he was
real. He had encounters with the devil and his demonic forces. Christ had much
to say about satan and the invisible spiritual world.
As I write, that ages-long war is raging. It is a war that
is manifested in the physical through the agency of human beings.
In World War II, Germany blitzed England, dropping 50,000
tons of bombs on the British between September 1940 and May 1941. Hitler hoped
to gain the surrender of England. Instead, “British
society became in many ways strengthened by the blitz, and more, rather than
less, determined to stay the course.”[1]
The British knew they were in a war, they expected it, and
they stood strong.
The Christian must have a mentality similar to what the English
had in 1940. It is true that Jesus has won the ultimate victory already, by his
death, burial, and resurrection. But in God’s infinite wisdom, that victory is
not actualized yet. Our lives are lived in the context of a great cosmic battle.
The enemy is not the Muslims, the LGBT community, liberal
politicians, the police, Christians, Donald Trump, Barrack Obama, the
Hispanics, the Black Lives Matter movement , the rich, the NRA, Planned
Parenthood, or the system. We all have opinions about these, and they matter, -
but they are not the enemy.
Paul said, “For our
struggle is not against flesh and blood… but against the spiritual forces of
evil in the heavenly realms.”[2]
Jesus speaking to his closest follower, Peter, said, “Get away from me Satan! You are a dangerous trap to me. You are seeing
things merely from a human point of view, not from God’s.”[3]
If Jesus, - seeing things not merely from a human
perspective - is considering his friend a tool of Satan… then we’d best take
notice.
When a “Christian” shoots someone at an abortion clinic, that
is a work of the devil. I don’t care what church he goes to or what he
believes.
When a Muslim guns down people at a concert, that is a work
of the devil, no matter what his justification or cause.
When I’m hurtful to another person, that is a work of the devil through me. We
call it sin. It’s my fault yet it’s
exacerbated in some way, shape, or form by “spiritual
forces of evil.” I was the one through which the offense came. I was
oblivious to the battle and the nature of the attack.
It’s necessary to be aware. We are not Switzerland. We are
not neutral. Paul says, “We are not
unaware of his schemes.”[4]When
the siren sounded the Brits headed for their bomb shelters. They sowed name
tags into their clothing for identification. They lived in the light of an
active conflict going on.
What are our weapons?
Not Jihad. Not a gun. Not wealth or control. Not blocking a
freeway on-ramp. Not bigotry. Not law-suits. Not blaming others or the system.
Not divorce.
The specific ‘weapon’
Paul was talking about was forgiveness. That’s just one. There are others.
Love. Humility. Patience. Doing the right thing. Finding out the Truth and
siding with it. The list goes on.
In short, all the things Jesus did.
Peter, the one Jesus called ‘satan’, learned his lesson.
Today he tells us, “Stay alert. Watch out
for your great enemy the devil… stand firm against him, and be strong in your
faith.[5]
We’re in a war, folks. Stay alert!
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