August 23, 2012
Division
I remember being a new believer who, because I lacked biblical
knowledge, felt ill-equipped to fight a lot of spiritual battles. I hated
having to walk away from spiritual conversation because my footing wasn’t as
good as that of my opponent. We all know the importance of using the Word when
we are in combat with Satan, but we seem to think in terms of winning and
losing. I’m now wondering if some of us are working on the wrong end game. Jesus
said, “Any kingdom divided against itself
will be ruined, and a house divided against itself will fall. If Satan is
divided against himself, how can his kingdom stand?” (Luke 11:17-18a NIV) Rather
than defeating or defending, the real victory is in dividing.
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1 comment:
Gail;
-----One of my still unsatisfied hungers is for a really good Tribulation movie that portrays the event like Revelation describes it. There have been a lot of Tribulation movies full of suspense and thrills and special effects. But they all revolve around this entirely non-Biblical story-line of some small band of super-hero believers on a vague, eerie mission to defeat the antichrist who inevitably wind up getting chased into a conclusion that has no sum. The Book of Revelation nowhere portrays any band of mortal heroes combating the bad man or defeating the evil one. We can not divide his kingdom, neither individually nor all together. Jesus Christ has. And He’s got the keys to prove it.
-----But that does not mean we do not take part in that dividing. If we expect our participation to be the conclusive part of the whole affair, we wander into unreality. But if we expect our participation to be a particle of it, we ground in reality. So we are relieved of responsibility for the end game to only have a part in it by putting on Jesus Christ who does end the game.
-----For me, putting on Jesus Christ is an ongoing search for more truth and a deeper grounding in reality. And the reality is that whenever we cross paths with people of Satan’s deceit, some effect will follow which inevitably is included in the sum of all things. The effect can be either crumpling twist, simplified straightening, or a combination. But some spiritual effect, however slight, will happen. And we want it to join into the final division Christ will strike.
-----You are so correct about what to do when coming to a confliction with one of Satan’s agents, whether just a twisted concept of a fellow believer, or a soul lost in the forest of twisted concepts. The simple direction we have been given by God, the essence of all our activity, is love in the truth. The truth is that as long as this special agent is in his mortal body he is not unquestionably lost. The love fit for the matter desires what will truly benefit him. If we knew nothing else about what that benefit might be, we at least know it is whatever bit of wisdom or correct knowledge that is understandable to him and that has ties to the path of truth and light which Christ is. The combat of ideas is the crossway for exchange. It is not the point of the exchange, but it is the frontline. So winning an argument or reaching a conclusion is not your particle of effect in the division of Satan’s kingdom. The sparkle of light you might cause by something you say or someway you act that only momentarily splits even a piece of the darkness blanketing his soul is to his benefit. And if you know not a thing like that to say, then simply listening to what he has to say is a beneficial exploration of the frontline terrain being nestled comfortably into the nonverbally stated truth that you really do care. And this, too, sparkles light.
-----I thank God He does not require us to individually be the convincers. He asks of us to be the sparklers. And if much of our sparkling does convince another, it behooves us to remember that in almost certain likelihood, you have only sparkled where many have sparkled before.
Love you all,
Steve Corey
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