I still find it amazing how easily I give up on battles. I find with age that my energy levels are not what they were in the younger days so the challenges seem just a bit more overwhelming. That the strongest survive is no doubt but I continue to confuse what is at stake in the battles I usually fight.
Is it all about strength; either mental or physical? Is it about cunning or intellect? Is the winning found in numbers?
Solomon understood the power of truth and wisdom. He noted that when “one sage entered a whole city of armed soldiers – their trusted defenses fell to pieces!” (Proverbs 21.22) We seem to have lost this note to history.
The fact of the matter is that we are merely messengers in a battle far larger than we are. We find ourselves in the trap of believing that it is our fight alone, that others do not care to the degree that we profess and hold close. We then carry the burden as if we are the only ones in the world. The burden is heavy, overwhelming, and ultimately soul consuming!
Who owns the battle? Not I said the sage; it is God’s alone.
Who has the most at risk? Not I said the sage; God’s values are on trial.
Is the battle going to be lost? It is already won; fully and completely at Calvary!
What is at stake now? Your life and mine are at risk.
What matters most? How we respond; what we do.
Can we win? We already have. It is in the process that we discover that we hold the strongest ideas that ultimately will win the battle.
The challenges of life are not about who will win the battle or war. God has already won the ultimate. The question is how you and I will respond. What will we do when confronted with someone or something desperately lacking in the experience of grace, mercy, and unconditional acceptance. It is time we acted as one with God; the time is here, now.
