A few quick thoughts. I really should be moving on soon, as it’s almost one o’clock and I’m still here at coffeeshop! But I haven’t quite finished my Earl Grey yet, and I did want to write a few words.

I’ve been tasked with leading the bible study for community group this coming Tuesday. I’m woefully behind schedule on prepping for it, so this morning dove into the text a bit. John 8:48-59. Beautifully awesome passage, with Jesus(per usual!) not holding back any punches. As I looked into my text, I spent a bit of time on the verses previous, and they just struck me. Jesus was oh so clear as He preached to all that there are only two types of people in this world. Those who are slaves to sin and children of the devil. And those who are free in Christ and followers of God. Sometimes I think we can too easily fall into the trap of thinking there’s a neutral zone in this world. A set of people who don’t really fall into one category or the other, people who aren’t Christ-followers, but still basically good people.

And yet, Christ makes it clear that those who do not understand and do the words of God are those who are of their father the devil. Just consider this, as much as we live in a physical world surrounded by lots of ‘nice’ people…we so often barely grasp the enormity of the spiritual war raging around us. We must love all people, of that there is no question. We must love the lost as Jesus did. But we must also recognize that the lost are also currently children of the devil and slaves to sin. And that thought must make us shudder – how much more should we hold up high the banner of light? How much more should we be willing and eager to proclaim our allegiance to our Father, the ruler of the universe and Father of Light? We should not be hesitant to challenge those who do not follow Christ.

This age we are in is an age of diversity and an age of acceptance and an age where there are no lines in the sand because all is acceptable and all is tolerable and all is good. This is an age where everyone does what is right in their own eyes. The predominant religion in this western world is the ancient religion of humanism – where we worship the desires of the flesh and the high places of this world and the creeds of our own devising. As long as we don’t harm others, many say – all is acceptable, all is praiseworthy. This is an age where we worship ourself as the one true god. This is an age ruled by the devil himself.

Let us remember that and let us shudder. And let us be humble before the Lord our God, the true ruler of the ages. Let us kneel before our Father in deepest prayer and most sincere adoration. Let us follow Christ every moment of our lives. We are in a war, a war to the death. And we know that Christ will triumph victorious. But now, we fight. We fight with the very strength of Christ, because He lives. And His Spirit is with us. And, we fight. Let us hold firm to the word of God and remember the deeds of the Lord. He is with us, forever and always. And we fight.