One of the greatest enemies of courageous love is doubt. To see this, consider John the Baptist’s story. The Scriptures indicate John’s message was firmly based on Isaiah 40:3-4, his baptism on repentance for the forgiveness of sins (Mark 1:2-5). Confidently exclaiming, “Look! The Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!” (John 1:29), John demonstrated a passionate conviction concerning Jesus’ identity.
Consequently, this steered him to confront the moral corruptions of King Herod. causing his imprisonment. Understanding prisons of that time, John most likely found himself experiencing periods of overwhelming isolation and boredom. While in that forlorn dungeon, the incessant biting of dark uncertainty nibbled at John’s steely mind. In time, a question, born in the womb of agonizing despair and aching sorrow, forced the words out of his mouth, “Are you, Jesus, the one who was to come, or should we expect someone else?” (Matt. 11:2-3; Luke 7:18-20).
In peaceful times of green pastures, our faith may feel thick and rock-solid. Seasons of change, however, can bring devastating realizations. God often allows profound suffering because it is the terrain where growing faith finds enough room for contemplative reflection. It is where doubt, rooted in our sinful nature, is met by faith, rooted in Christ himself.
“Those who believe they believe in God but without passion in the heart, without anguish of mind, without uncertainty, without doubt, and even at times without despair, believe only in the idea of God, and not in God himself.”- Madeleine L’Engle
Jesus took Peter, John and James with him. “Stay here while I pray,” he told them. Walking a little further, about a stone’s throw away, he fell to his knees surrendering to the heavy weight of sorrow. With his face toward the ground, he breathed a prayer in an overwhelmingly distressed voice: “Father, everything is possible for you. If you are willing, may this cup be taken from me.” Eventually, Jesus stood up and walked back to the three men who had fallen asleep. Waking them, he pleaded, “Could you not keep watch with me for one hour? I tell you, be alert so that you will not fall into temptation. Certainly the spirit is willing, but the body is weak.” With that, Jesus returned to pray once more. The severe pain and writhing agony within Jesus swelled, causing him to sweat beads of blood. Acceding his Father‘s desire, Jesus whispered, “Nevertheless, not my will, but yours be done.” Soon, an angel appeared and strengthened him. Jesus, rising up, walked back to Peter, John and James. “It is time,” he said resolutely. “Here comes my betrayer.” (see Matt. 26:36-46; Mark 14:32-42; Luke 22:39-46).
Jesus' heroic behavior in Gethsemane captured a moment of mythic courage. Making a self-sacrificing decision in that moment of crisis is about nothing other than love. Only a potent, altruistic love could lead Jesus to override the human impulse for personal survival. Seen from the intellect, his decision to face crucifixion was arguably irrational; seen from the heart, however, it was the only choice to make.
“The kind of love which led Christ to a cross…amid the angry torrents of persecution is not soft, anemic, and sentimental. Such love confronts evil without flinching and shows…an infinite capacity ‘to take it.’ Such love overcomes the world even from a rough-hewn cross against the skyline.” - Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
“Praise the Lord, who is my rock. He trains my hands for war and gives my fingers skill for battle…”
- Psalm 144:1
In this life, we face battles and struggles so often it feels as if we are in a war. According to the Scriptures, this is not far from reality. In fact, the apostle Paul writes about this very topic.
There are two places, in Ephesians 6:10-18 & 2 Corinthians 10:3-5, where we find words concerning “the battle.” If we allow the thoughts developed by Paul in these two passages to overlap, we will see some interesting things. For instance, we learn about the battle ground. The battle ground is obviously where the battle takes place. While the wars throughout human history lie within the physical domain, Paul indicates he is not referring to these in particular. “We are human, but we don’t wage war as humans do ( 2 Cor. 10:3 NLT).” The NIV captures the thought this way, “For though we live in the world, we do not wage war as the world does.” From this Paul launches into a discourse allowing us to understand a few important ideas.
It is imperative to know where the battle ground is. Unless we know where the battle is, we can never enter into fight. Paul identifies the battle ground like this: “For we are not fighting against flesh-and-blood enemies, but against evil rulers and authorities of the unseen world, and against evil spirits in the heavenly places (Eph. 6:12 NLT).” Let’s try and put a finger on what Paul is telling us. He writes in 2 Cor. 4:3-6 about the light of the Gospel in conflict with Satan’s blinding darkness. I am going to take liberty at shifting the order of two verses to help us see the battle. “For God, who said ‘Let there be light in the darkness,’ has made this light shine in our hearts so we could know the glory of God that is seen in the face of Jesus (v.6).” “(But) Satan, who is the god of this world, has blinded the minds of those who don’t believe. They are unable to see the glorious light of the Good News. They don’t understand this message about the glory Christ, who is the exact likeness of God (v.4).” Do you see the battle? Do you see where the battle ground is?
Listen carefully to Paul’s next words. “The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world” (2 Cor. 10:4 NIV). Two questions come to mind. First, what are these weapons? Paul answers, “…the belt of truth…the breastplate of righteousness…the shield of faith…the helmet of salvation…and the sword of the Spirit” (Eph 6:14-17 NIV). Secondly, what is the purpose of these weapons? Paul asserts, “We use God’s mighty weapons…to knock down the strongholds of human reasoning and to destroy false arguments. We destroy every proud obstacle that keeps people from knowing God.” (2 Cor. 10:4-5 NLT). Stay tuned for more…
