Advancing the Kingdom!~day 22

There is this provocative passage in the gospel of Luke where in one version* Jesus, talking to his disciples about John the Baptist says, “The kingdom of heaven suffers violence and violent men take it by force.” (Matt: 11:12) To which I say – what does that mean?

I can relate to violence striking at those in my sphere of influence. Whether it’s just random stuff happening, or whether it’s really people within the kingdom of God who are being targeted in a particular way, people I know are suffering violence.

To be human is to encounter pain. We come into the world screaming, recoiling against it, and many of us will leave the world fighting it. And in between, God’s enemy, who hates his creation, will do everything in his power to bring violence our way. He has targeted us for pain. If we are a threat to the existing order (in which he exercises control), then we have a bullseye painted on our back. 

The good news is, we don’t have to go whimpering into the night. We are more than conquerors. Somehow, in God’s economy, we’re called to resist the enemy of our souls and fight back – to get some violence in our spirit.

Andrew Shearman calls it “getting a spirit of violence” (see him talk about it on this short video) We need to get angry and shout a bit at the forces of hell. Do a gut check and if you have difficulty fighting the accuser of the brethren, this would probably be a good day to make the following declaration, serving notice to the one who wants to wreck your life: 

“Look, hell, you may have taken my loved one away. You may have robbed me of something I held dear. You may have marked me for destruction, but I sure as heck (go ahead and say “hell” if you’re feeling particularly righteous) am not going to sit here and take it! I am going to fight you for what God has given me. Society may place a premium on being nice and looking proper, but I don’t have any more room in my life for nice! I will fight you tooth and nail for what is mine, and furthermore, now that you’ve riled me up, I will exact a price for this. Where I’ve been complacent, I will start putting on the Ephesians 6 armor. Where I’ve been passive, I will start praying warfare prayers. Instead of sleeping in, I’m going to start getting up early and praising God. I’ve had it – I’m not going to sit still any longer! I know there’s a warrior’s spirit in me somewhere, and I intend to summon it up!”

This is more than a rote prayer – it can be a jolt of spiritual caffeine for your sleepy spiritual self that needs to be slapped into a state wakefulness. And when you’re awake, start living in a way that truly does violence to the enemy camp. This is not weird or overly dramatic behavior – this is you waking up to your identity and to spiritual reality. It’s what normal Jesus followers struggling to navigate in this cynical world do.

And after you’re done declaring and praying and snorting or whatever, here’s how you continue the fight: Apologize to a few people you’ve offended. Hold an orphan, or sponsor one at least. Go visit some widows in a senior citizen’s home. Write a blog that tries to rile people up like this one. Turn off the TV. For God’s sake and for your own, do something!

What’s your response? Here’s mine: I posture myself to not be a victim, but to recognize that pain is a standard occupational hazard for human beings, and particularly those who pose a threat to our enemy. I am not back on my heels reacting like a punching bag for the enemy of my soul. 

I further see the ebb and flow of this life for what it is. I won’t be surprised or sidelined by pain. I’m going to talk to my soul like David did in Psalms 42:5, “Why are you in despair, O my soul? And why have you become disturbed within me? Hope in God, for I shall again praise Him for the help of His presence.”

I’m going to make the devil pay for coming after me. It’s not braggadocio; it’s just a fact – in a spiritual sense, I’m a violent man, determined to war on behalf of those I love and those that Jesus targeted for love – the poor in spirit, the widow and the orphan.

How about you? If your eyes are fixed Jesus, on his kingdom and his righteousness, then you are forever encroaching your enemy’s territory. You’re going to be at least a nuisance to him. More likely, as one who has won your own battle with pain, you are a spiritual force to be reckoned with. 

If your enemy’s strategy is to keep humans hopeless and isolated, God counters by equipping you with the power of the Holy Spirit, through whom you bring hope and connection to others. This looks like force to the enemy – the kind of force that comes when you’re gritting your teeth and have filled the cup of your soul to the brim with determination.

My prayer for you as you graduate this class is that you recognize the stakes of this battle we’re in and that you sign up for payback. You have been wounded and sidelined, benumbed or restrained. It has been so painful.

But my further prayer for you is that you regain the gleam in your eye. Be a man or woman of violence. Seek the kingdom as the focus of your life, don’t be deterred along the way, and Jesus promises, your life will be full to overflowing.