Hope

Cease Fire

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Scripture often talks about the battle that Christians will engage in while on this Earth. Perhaps the most well-known passage is in Ephesians 6:10-20 when Paul writes about putting on the armor of God in order to stand strong in God. However, this is not the only place where wartime analogies are used. In I Timothy 6:12, Timothy (and by extension, us) is exhorted to “fight the good fight.” Scripture also makes it clear that there is an enemy (Eph. 6:12, I Peter 5:8), and that this enemy seeks to destroy (John 10:10). The Christian life is far from an easy one; there is ongoing engagement as we fight to bring glory to the Lord.

All of this battle talk can leave one feeling exhausted, as can engaging in the front-line offense. While we may know that we are commanded to not grow weary of doing good (Gal. 6:9), we may wonder how long we can keep up the fight. How long can we resist the temptations of the flesh (See Mt. 6:41, Ja. 1:12)? How long can we choose to repay evil with good (I Thess. 5:15)? The battle can seem long and relentless, and we may wonder whether we can last until the end.

As we ponder this though there are at least two things that should give us encouragement. The first is that God has equipped us to do the things that He has called us to do (Eph. 2:10, 2 Tim. 3:17). In other words, if God has called us to fight, He has given us what we need in order to successfully do so. The battle may be hard and it may be long, but we do not fight alone. It is His power at work within us that enables us to be “more than conquerors” (Rom. 8:37). If we are fighting in our own strength, we are likely to fail. If we are fighting in His, we can have confidence of the victory that awaits.

Secondly, we must engage in the fight with the knowledge that a cease fire is coming. There will be no enemy in Heaven (See Rev. 12:12) , just like there will be no pain and no tears (See Rev. 21:4). The fight will be over. We will no longer struggle with the things of this world, but our entire lives will be focused on that which they were created for – bringing glory to our God and King. In addition, we can, and should, engage vigorously in the battle now, because we know that one day the fight will cease – and the whole Earth will be surrendered to its Creator.

Therefore, the question that penetrates our hearts shouldn’t be “how long will the battle last?” as we know that war will no longer be waged. Instead, it should be “will I fight faithfully today?; will I persevere knowing that one day that battle will be over?”

May we resolve in our hearts to daily answer “yes.”

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Growth

Calling It Like He Sees It

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Go to a baseball game – any baseball game – and some time during the course of the play you will likely here someone say “Good eye.” It doesn’t matter if you are at a professional baseball park, or at a little league outing, the same refrain is used. It denotes the ability to discern which pitches are going to wind up in the strike zone and which aren’t. If you resist a pitch that looks good, but that the umpire ends up calling as a “ball,” someone – either a coach or a fan – is likely to commend you for having a good eye.

This ability to discern between a ball and strike is important because it means the player has an acute recognition of what things are and what they aren’t. They aren’t persuaded by close approximations. They are waiting for the pitch that they can hit – a pitch within their strike zone.

In the Christian life we are called to have a similar level of discernment. We must be able to distinguish between the things of God and the things that aren’t. We must be willing to call things what they are. Just like a baseball player must resist the pitch that may look good, but in fact isn’t, we must be able to resist the things that others say are good, but we know aren’t godly. We have to be mindful of close approximations – accepting only the things that God’s Word indicates are in accordance with what pleases Him.

Francis Schaeffer put it this way:

Sin is sin, and we must not call it less than sin. It is not an act of love to explain sin away as a psychological determinism or sociological conditioning, for it is real and must be dealt with. Men need a Savior. Therefore, Christians in our generation must resist relativistic and deterministic thinking. If men are going to find a real solution to the problem of who they are, they must come to terms with the fact that they need a Savior because they are sinners in the presence of a holy God. Sin is serious business.

If something conflicts with God’s standards, we must call it what it is – we must say it is sin. As Shaeffer indicates, if we do not, not only are we not in agreement with our Savior, but also the message of the Gospel is compromised.

It can be difficult for a baseball player to discern between a good pitch and a poor one. However, the more familiar they are with the strike zone, the more they are able to determine if the pitch meets the criteria for being in it. Similarly, the more we saturate ourselves with the things of God, the more likely we are able to distinguish anything that departs from Him. And then to call it as He sees it. To call it sin.

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