Edges

So here I am in Germany, serving as Activities Director and Counselor, doing my first devotional time with my five guys. Afterwards, I open it up to questions about anything: me, God, the U.S., even game-time tomorrow. Nothing. Not even crickets. Just as I'm standing up and getting ready to leave, one of my campers asks me in a thick German accent: "Do you believe in... theory of Darwin?"

Things just got REAL.

I answered him, telling him that I did not believe it and why (different subject for a different post). I don't know what he thought of my answer. He just nodded and leaned back in his seat.  I hope that I said the right things, but I just don't know. Then, after confirming that there were no more questions, I went back to my room. My first thought, on entering my room, was "Holy flip. What was that?" My second thought was, "Thank you, God, for prodding me to pray for wisdom before that question." I was drained. I felt as though I'd just gone through a long test back in school. I was both physically and mentally exhausted. I flopped down on my bed, flipped open my Bible, and read a couple of chapters and prayed, and I could feel some energy coming back to me. Then I thought about edges.

We are on the edge here--the edge between light and darkness. We are tasked with taking the light into places that are dark, and sometimes we can forget what that means: stepping into the dark places so that they may become light, not stepping into them once they are already well-lit. That's what Jesus did, when he first came into the world. "The people dwelling in darkness have seen a great light, and for those dwelling in the region and shadow of death, on them a light has dawned" (Matthew 4:16). And John tells us that "The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it" (John 1:5). Jesus stepped over the edge, into the darkness, so that his light could shine and be seen. Because it is here, on the edge, that things can happen. It is here that the great battles are fought, and it is on the edge that great deeds are accomplished. And these are accomplished with struggle. Jesus himself was exhausted at times, weary and troubled and sorrowful, and Paul saw himself as being poured out like a drink offering (2 Tim. 4:6). But the struggle is well worth it, because it is on the edge that souls can be saved.

Light in the darkness

There is a man who walks the Shadowlands, and to earthly eyes, which see things dimly in that dark place, there is perhaps nothing remarkable about what humans so ignorantly call his "life." But the eyes of heaven see clearly, and this is what they see.

They see a warrior, strong and bold. In his hand he holds a sword of light, and everything he sees, he sees by the light of the sword. He strides the earth, even larger in spirit than he is in body, and he brings the light of the sword into many places darkened by shadow. The armies of heaven, assembled in honor of the great warrior, watch the darkness hurl assault after assault at the man, and they watch the man stand firm through all of them, upheld by the light of the sword.

But the final blow is yet to come, and this the man can not withstand. The blow falls, unseen but not unfelt, and the man staggers. He grows weak, and seems to shrink. His steps no longer shake the ground, and soon he cannot even stand. He falls to his knees, but he holds tight to the sword, taking comfort in its light even as the darkness closes in around him.

But wait! The darkness halts it's advance, then flees as a light brighter than the sun surrounds the man. And out of the light comes another man, burning brightly, and a voice that sounds of battle and victory says, "Rise, warrior, for the night is over." The King, the great Captain of the hosts of Heaven, has come to welcome the soldier home. The man, still on his knees, sees the holes in the feet before him. He begins to fall forward, but nail-scarred hands raise him up, and the King says, "Be proud, my brother! Do you not remember, as I do, those years of glorious battle against the darkness? Have you forgotten how you held my sword tightly when the whole world tried to take it from you? Look around you! Do you not see the armies of heaven, come here to give you homage? I know what it is to be wrapped in darkness, and I know well the courage and steadfastness with which you faced it. Come and receive the victor's crown."

"The one who conquers, I will grant him to sit with me on my throne, as I also conquered and sat down with my Father on his throne." Revelations 3:21

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One of the great ones

There is a man coming out of the Shadowlands, and all of the heavenly host has fallen silent as they watch him come. He is tired--worn out, in the most literal sense. His hair, once full and brown, is sparse and white. His hands, once smooth and strong, are wrinkled, torn, and shaking. He walks slowly, limping, and pain is in every step. The silence among the angelic crowd begins to be broken by whispers, because he is not unknown in these parts, this thin, wrinkled old man. "Look at him! Look at this man, so tired and frail. See him walk on, though it pains him every step! See his eyes, fixed unwavering on something he cannot even see! Look at what he has done! He has fought in the great War, and his wounds are the wounds of a warrior. He is so tired, because he has run so hard and gone so far. This is what the King looked like when he was in that far country." That is what the angels whisper, watching the man from the Shadowlands.

The man hears none of this. He still walks, but his limp is more pronounced. He stumbles more often, and it takes him longer to get up. Finally there comes a fall from which there could surely be no rising--but he never hits the ground. Another hand, scarred like his own, catches his and pulls him up, and the voice that spoke the world into existence says, "Do not be afraid. Your journey is over." The voice that could have shattered the heavens and earth alike is quiet and gentle, and the words, though they have been heard countless times before, still bring a thrill of amazement to the unseen audience. The King has come to welcome his servant home, and as he speaks, the man begins to change. His hands grow strong again, and his legs grow firm. The weariness falls from his frame as he moves with an easiness he has not felt in years. The man who stands before the King is not quite the same as he who fell--he has been renewed.

The man sees the holes in the hands clasping his, and even when he turns his face away he sees the holes in the feet before him. He begins to fall again, not from weakness but from reverence, but again the King bears him up and sets him on his feet. "John," the King says, and the man jerks to hear his name. "Be proud! Be joyful! For you have fought the good fight, even after your hands had lost their strength. You have finished the race, even when every step was agony. And you have kept the faith, even when your body and your very mind failed you, and the world turned dark and confusing. Well done, good and faithful servant. You have surely earned your crown of righteousness."

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