We fight because hearts are captive. This Great War in which we find ourselves and every one of its battles, are all about Love…being Loved and then Loving. That is where Life is… so that is where the enemy attacks. The enemy of a man’s heart knows that being loved makes for a settled heart, a full heart… and makes all the difference in the world when stepping into the battle for the hearts of others! Jesus lived this way and taught this way…
Let me give you a new command: Love one another. In the same way I loved you, you love one another. This is how everyone will recognize that you are my disciples—when they see the love you have for each other. John 13:34-35 (MSG)
Later in John 17, Jesus prays for our protection in this great war, we must need it…
I do not ask that You will take them out of the world, but that You will keep and protect them from the evil one. John 17:15 (AMP)
The POWs, the casualties, the bondage and the blindness experienced by so many caught in the middle of this Great War is why we fight. After all, the Warrior knows well, “that used to be me.” Yes, we were among the prisoners and casualties… but not anymore! We are in a great conflict, a spiritual battle regarding whose image we bear, and whether or not we are the Beloved. Claims and accusations are being made against us that we are not the Beloved, but there is good news: there is a counterclaim being made for each of us, declaring that we are free, worth dying for and therefore the Beloved! “He became like us…”
Men must come to know, then hold onto and guard who they truly are and must also understand what they are up against: an enemy who wants to know if we know who we truly are. The greatest weapon Satan and the kingdom of darkness use against the human heart are falsehoods, propaganda, lies to convince men (and women) that they are not the Beloved. This is how this war works and what it is all about… Love. This is what we fight for and how we are to take up the fight and advance the Kingdom of Christ.
Jesus said, we will know the truth “and the truth will set us free.” (John 8:32.36). Paul tells us, “we have been set free from sin.” (Romans 6:18). Peter shouts, “Live as free men.” (1 Peter 2:16). David wrote, “You have set my heart free.” (Psalm 119:32). It was the great former slave and abolitionist leader, Fredrick Douglas who said,
They would not call it slavery, but some other name. Slavery has been fruitful in giving herself names ... and it will call itself by yet another name; and you and I and all of us had better wait and see what new form this old monster will assume, in what new skin this old snake will come forth.
Nelson Mandela once said, “For to be free is not merely to cast off one's chains, but to live in a way that respects and enhances the freedom of others.” It was Eisenhower that said, “Freedom is not long entrusted to the weak or the timid.” The parallels are not accidental, rather they are great. What goes on in our physical world is a direct reflection of what is going on in the spiritual, not vice versa. John Eldredge wrote, “Every step toward life and freedom is opposed… if you want Life you are going to have to fight for it.” What we are learning and fighting for is freedom. What we are fighting against are the accusations, lies, false beliefs and the agents of darkness who fight to take us out.
