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A faithful presence of love in the absences of our city.

Wartime Realities

WartimeRealities

One of my favorite films is the 1959 comedy “The Mouse that Roared”, starring Peter Sellers in three different roles.  As the movie begins, the 15-square-mile Duchy of Grand Fenwick decides that the only solution to its economic woes is to declare war on the United States, lose expeditiously (of course), and reap the benefits of the American money that pours in during the subsequent occupation. Unfortunately for their foolproof plan, the US official who receives their Declaration of War assumes it must be a joke and discards it. The invading Army of Grand Fenwick, comprising 20 soldiers in chain mail with bows and arrows, arrives on American soil and struggles to find someone to accept their surrender because the United States doesn’t realize they are at war.

While it makes for a hilarious movie premise, our situation is much more sobering. We are at war, and much of the time we don’t even realize it. That’s a really dangerous state of mind. In Revelation 12, John helps us peak behind the scenes and see the true nature of our story. Satan, the great red dragon, wars against the woman, her child, and ultimately us. The conflict spans all of history, from the first rebellion when Satan and the angels who follow him are cast out of heaven to the final judgment yet to come. Make no mistake: this is a literal war, not a metaphor, although here it is described symbolically. It may not look much like wars in history books or on the news or even in fantasy shows, but it is real.

How often do I realize this truth? I may feel exhausted or discouraged or wounded by events in my life, but do I recognize the underlying battle? What about the days that look less like a battle and more like drudgery or boredom? As we learn in Revelation 12, the primary attacks of the dragon aren’t head-on, but sneaky: deception and accusation. It’s all too easy to fall for deceptive words that encourage me to seek power and influence in my own strength, or the whispers that remind me that I deserve to be comfortable in life. And if I’m trying to do things in my own strength, I have no recourse when the dragon accuses me with the truth that I have failed to live up to God’s standards.

If I’m aware of the war being waged around me, what changes? First of all, my expectations for life. Wartime always means sacrifice, giving up daily comforts or personal plans and goals to focus on something bigger. While I do often experience God’s blessings, I should expect life on this earth to be more difficult than pleasant. Second, war implies mission. My daily struggles aren’t just the echoes of the universe tending toward entropy. They have purpose as small skirmishes in a larger battle. Through God’s grace, even my failures work together to accomplish his will, for my life and for the whole world. Finally, this war will have an end when Jesus is finally and ultimately victorious. This is the hope I look to in my daily battles - that the blood of the Lamb has fully covered the sins that I am truthfully accused of, and that I can trust in the testimony that the victory has already been accomplished, even as I wait to see the end of the fight.

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