Why settle for the spoils of war?
" For everything in the world-the cravings of sinful man,the lust of his eyes and the boasting of what he has and does-come not from the Father but from the world.The world and its desires pass away,but the man who does the will of God lives forever" John 2:16-17
The lust of the eyes,boasting in what we have or what we have done are what I call the "the spoils of war".The epic battle between good and evil is not only the stuff of blockbuster movies, its the reality of our existence in a broken world.Regardless of who's side you are on you might find yourself in an aerial dogfight or a close combat situation,you may even lose a limb...or two.Let's face it,life is not an easy and is seldom smooth sailing.
Now this is where the problem comes.As a weak and weary soldier you can choose to receive two things.The first is rest,clean clothes'shelter, a meal prepared just for you and total satisfaction or you can choose to receive the spoils of war....everything you never had the opportunity to own while the battle was raging,anything you can capture and keep,its yours! But here's the catch, in order to obtain the first option you must surrender and follow the ways of the one to whom you have surrendered and if you chose the second option you will never be satisfied...actually sounds kind of depressing.Unless you surrendered to someone who was kind, and merciful.and gave you above and beyond what you deserved.
"Come to me,all who are weary and burdened,and I will give you rest.Take my yoke upon you and learn from me,for I am gentle and humble in heart,and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light:" Matthew 11:28-30
In our minds it can seem like an obvious choice,or at least it seems like an obvious choice in my mind... until I remember all the times when I have chosen the spoils of war rather than surrender...anything but surrender.When we refuse to surrender we settle for the spoils of war: our stuff and our vain ambitions.At first it may seem nice,after all you can have as much of it as you want....whatever you think will satisfy you.But at some point you start to realise that its never enough and you become obsessed with getting more and the more is never enough..and the freedom you thought you had starts to feel like a captivity,you have become a slave to your own desires.
But there's more.
Its the story of grace when we read about the Prodigal's Son...after going broke pursuing all of his desires and living independently the son realises that its better to live under his father's roof and abide by the laws of his father's house than to live hungry and destitute.The son returned home to a rejoicing father and the feast of the decade ( well maybe not the feast of the decade but you get my point). Likewise our weary soldier surrenders expecting to be put in chains,but instead he finds that in exchange for his rags he receives a brand new set of clothes and instead of being mocked and accused he is given a place of honour.
Like a little child who has made a mistake the fear of being found out is worse than actually being found out ie. the fear of surrendering is worse than actually surrendering.And too often because of fear..and sometimes plain old stubbornness,we refuse to surrender and prefer to stand outside the dinner party with an unquenchable thirst and an insatiable hunger.
I know what it is to fear surrender....but I also know what it is to be tired and weary and on that note..
" For everything in the world-the cravings of sinful man,the lust of his eyes and the boasting of what he has and does-come not from the Father but from the world.The world and its desires pass away,but the man who does the will of God lives forever" John 2:16-17
The lust of the eyes,boasting in what we have or what we have done are what I call the "the spoils of war".The epic battle between good and evil is not only the stuff of blockbuster movies, its the reality of our existence in a broken world.Regardless of who's side you are on you might find yourself in an aerial dogfight or a close combat situation,you may even lose a limb...or two.Let's face it,life is not an easy and is seldom smooth sailing.
Now this is where the problem comes.As a weak and weary soldier you can choose to receive two things.The first is rest,clean clothes'shelter, a meal prepared just for you and total satisfaction or you can choose to receive the spoils of war....everything you never had the opportunity to own while the battle was raging,anything you can capture and keep,its yours! But here's the catch, in order to obtain the first option you must surrender and follow the ways of the one to whom you have surrendered and if you chose the second option you will never be satisfied...actually sounds kind of depressing.Unless you surrendered to someone who was kind, and merciful.and gave you above and beyond what you deserved.
"Come to me,all who are weary and burdened,and I will give you rest.Take my yoke upon you and learn from me,for I am gentle and humble in heart,and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light:" Matthew 11:28-30
In our minds it can seem like an obvious choice,or at least it seems like an obvious choice in my mind... until I remember all the times when I have chosen the spoils of war rather than surrender...anything but surrender.When we refuse to surrender we settle for the spoils of war: our stuff and our vain ambitions.At first it may seem nice,after all you can have as much of it as you want....whatever you think will satisfy you.But at some point you start to realise that its never enough and you become obsessed with getting more and the more is never enough..and the freedom you thought you had starts to feel like a captivity,you have become a slave to your own desires.
But there's more.
Its the story of grace when we read about the Prodigal's Son...after going broke pursuing all of his desires and living independently the son realises that its better to live under his father's roof and abide by the laws of his father's house than to live hungry and destitute.The son returned home to a rejoicing father and the feast of the decade ( well maybe not the feast of the decade but you get my point). Likewise our weary soldier surrenders expecting to be put in chains,but instead he finds that in exchange for his rags he receives a brand new set of clothes and instead of being mocked and accused he is given a place of honour.
Like a little child who has made a mistake the fear of being found out is worse than actually being found out ie. the fear of surrendering is worse than actually surrendering.And too often because of fear..and sometimes plain old stubbornness,we refuse to surrender and prefer to stand outside the dinner party with an unquenchable thirst and an insatiable hunger.
I know what it is to fear surrender....but I also know what it is to be tired and weary and on that note..
" I consider everything a loss compared to the surpassing greatness of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord..." Philipians 3:21
