We are not fighting against flesh-and-blood enemies, but against evil rulers and authorities of the unseen world. Ephesians 6:12
In our technological age of reason, such verses can strike a discordant note. Am I expected to believe in a world beyond the one I experience with my mind? My answer is a definite yes.
I do not expect us to conjure up images of mythological beasts, for they remain the products of our imagination. I do expect that we accept that Jesus came from beyond our time/space world and returned to it at His ascension. This understanding lays the foundation for our commitment to prayer.
We will never resolve the problem of evil through human solutions alone, no matter how sophisticated. There remains a faultline throughout history which once threatened to terminate history itself. Through the incarnate life, death and resurrection of Jesus, its total destructive powers were disarmed.
However, it remains unstable and dangerous. It retains sufficient power to corrupt even the best of us. It’s why we face a never ending inner conflict between doing good and doing bad; promoting self or serving everyone’s best interests.
Many will have enjoyed C. S Lewis’, Chronicles of Narnia. Our common mistake is to conclude they were myths. Lewis was presenting clearly the reality of an unseen struggle in which warfare is real and control over truth is strongly contested.
The devil remains on the prowl and Scripture constantly reminds us that we are his prey. We must not fall into a false sense of optimism that all is well in the world. Rather we need to heed God’s call to arms.
This warfare remains a reality in our own world. And we, Paul explains, are on the frontline of this ceaseless warfare. Our battles are not fiction; our battles are in maintaining faith in God in a battle with fundamentalist rationality.
Something to Consider: How have you experienced this hidden war that surrounds us all?
An Action to Take: Read Ephesians 6:10–18 and consider where you are vulnerable to attack.
A Prayer to Make: ‘Lord, help me to be alert to the attacks of the enemy all aimed at amaging my faith in Jesus.’
Photo by Zoltan Tasi on Unsplash
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