Storm's Coming

As I sit to write this morning, a nice little storm system is rolling in from the west. A little thunder, but nothing too severe. We need the rain.

Have you seen The Dark Knight yet? 3 times, here. It's simply the way things have worked out: 1st time with my dad and a few buddies, 2nd time with a couple different buddies including my boss, and 3rd time with my mom, sis, and bro-in-law. Wife hasn't seen it yet, so maybe there's a 4th time in there somewhere - if I can talk her into it.

The movie is that good. It paints a vivid picture of how chaotic and hopeless evil can make the world seem. There just comes a point in the movie when it all seems pointless to go on. Reminds me of our non-movie world. Evil, when left unchecked, can sustain a great level of chaos, anarchy, hopelessness, hate. But neither in the movie, nor in real life, is evil left unchecked.

Batman, Gordon, and Dent, with the help of others, stage an epic "battle for Gotham's soul" against the Joker and others (don't want to spoil the movie for those who haven't seen it yet) in the movie. Jesus Christ won an even bigger battle, the war in fact, for all mankind's soul in our world. IN OUR WORLD.

But as the movie points out, evil doesn't go down without a fight. That would be our enemy. He's lost the war, but he's bound and determined to take down all that he can before he goes. "Some men just like to watch the world burn," says Alfred. So, Satan has unleashed his hounds. The closer we get to Christ's return, the worse it's going to get. "It's always darkest before the dawn." Jesus is on His way back. But... He's not here yet.

So, that leaves the church, the body of believers in this world, as the guardians of culture. Frankly, we've done a poor job. However, "the Holy Ghost would never suffer the imputation to rest upon His holy name that He was unable to convert the world." (Charles Haddon Spurgeon) So, we, like Batman, must stage an epic battle with evil. The good news is, we've already won, and we fight with the power of the Holy Spirit. God equips us for the fight. The daunting news is, this is an everyday battle. Just like the movie seemed ongoing and almost hopeless at times, life can feel that way, too. But, remember the good news. We must fight for our culture. We must redeem this world. It is, after all, the one in which we live.

Satan will continue to put up his fight. But not easily. The Joker was a formidable foe for Batman. We have one, too. And just like the movie, the forces of good were starting to hurt the forces of evil, so they struck back. As we advance the Kingdom of God, the enemy will strike back. He will bring the storm. But we're covered. The storm's coming. I, for one, want to face it head on. Let's roll.