Thoughtful Thursdays: The Sword of the Cross
For what purpose does one wield the sword? How does the death of a hero result in our vanquished foe? By what power does this come to pass which saves every lad and lass? Though time goes by few can discern the reason why.
To understand the answer of the end one must head to the journey’s start. For in this place, one can see how things came to be. Words spoken to the ancient foe declared how he would suffer a final blow.
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Ever since the tenth grade I’ve had an appreciation for poetry after my teacher had us go through and analyze some of Walt Witman’s and Emily Dickenson’s work. I’ve even written some of my own and I wrote the above piece specifically for this Thoughtful Thursday. The Bible is filled with such imagery for the purpose of encouraging the search for the deeper meaning. Proverbs 25:2 says that it is the glory of God to conceal a matter but the honor of kings to search it out. He wants us to draw closer to Him to gain understanding as James tells the scattered tribes in the first chapter of his letter.
For the poetic opening of today I was inspired by the second half of the curse God placed on the serpent in Genesis.
“And I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and hers; he will crush your head, and you will strike his heel.”
Genesis 3:15 (NIV)
We know that this is also a prophecy of Christ coming to destroy Satan’s hold on this world and his authority. But even the poetic imagery was fulfilled in the crucifixion.
“They brought Jesus to the place called Golgotha (which means “the place of the skull”).”
Mark 15:22 (NIV)
“He told them, “This is what is written: The Messiah will suffer and rise from the dead on the third day, and repentance for the forgiveness of sins will be preached in his name to all nations, beginning at Jerusalem. You are witnesses of these things. I am going to send you what my Father has promised; but stay in the city until you have been clothed with power from on high.”
Luke 24:46-49 (NIV)
“Then Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”
Matthew 28:18-20 (NIV)
In the summer between my Junior and Senior Year of High School my family went to Israel for about a week and a half. Of the many places we visited we went to Golgotha, which means the skull, where Jesus was crucified and I understood why it was called “the Skull.” There are three cave-like openings on one of the sides and are positioned in a way to make it look just like a skull.
One of my fascinations is history and I am also a fan of fantasy inspired by the medieval time period that lasted from about 900 to 1500 A.D. I love the imagery of a knight in armor fighting dragons and other monsters. But what sticks out to me is that most of the swords made in Europe have a pronounced cross guard to protect the hands of the sword’s wielders. It’s why this image of Christ’s cross being a sword into the skull of Satan sticks with me and became what I drew for today’s reference image.
So long as we are in Christ we live in the strength of His victory. Recently, I was reminded by how far that authority reaches. I’ve dealt with some demonic influences trying to mess with my dreams. This happened once or twice when I was in High School and had to call on Christ’s name to rebuke them from my dreams and find safety in Him. God will protect us during these instances so long as we continue to draw close and recognize His authority. When things went spiritually dark in my dreams the evil was manifested as characters from fiction who were the obvious embodiment of evil.
In my most recent dream I had to rebuke the evil twice. The first time I told it to leave the evil proclaimed who it was and that I couldn’t do what I was doing to get rid of it. It countered by saying my source of authority overruled them and cast them out with finality as I drew on the power of God.
He will give us the power we need for the things ahead of us but we shouldn’t let ourselves be self deluded as we try to predict what it will look like. Our task is to receive the orders, verify they come from God, and then move forward in them. Satan will try to deceive many if he can by giving them words that they want to hear and make them think it’s from God because it sounds like a “mighty calling.” But in answering that call they abandon the one they already had and it causes much trouble to them in life. The power we are given also extends to the gifts we’ve been given for the purpose of growing the Kingdom of Heaven on Earth. This is why drawing close to God is so important for the more we know who He is the more we can tell what is and is not of Him.
Some are the so-called “natural skills” we have but they are still gifts from God. I find a detriment to the church culture in the west has been a hyper fixation with the supernatural ones. When God chooses to bring about a miracle it is simply for the purpose of showing a part of Himself to the person who needs to see it.
Christ’s war against sin and the devil is won but the battle within each and every one of us to be fought daily. We don’t have to live as though we are powerless because the Sword of the Cross is available to each and everyone of us as the way we live in victory over sin. But that victory comes at a personal cost. Denying the sinful nature and feeding our new nature given to each one of us who has chosen to surrender and accept Christ’s sacrifice for our sin so that we can live in the new life He offers us to be part of.
Until Next Time,
Courage and Godspeed!