We Are At War

The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full. - John 10:10

We and the world, my children, will always be at war. Retreat is impossible. Arm yourselves.
– Leif Enger

If healing is a part of salvation, why does it often seem so hard to receive?

The plot is so familiar it smacks of cliché. Someone is supposed to inherit a fortune . . . but something always goes wrong. The stories tell of an evil uncle or conniving cousin (why do authors consistently make the villain a relative, I wonder?!), a bad guy working overtime to see to it that the will of the benevolent deceased is not carried out. The messenger gets ambushed before news of the inheritance is delivered, and our hero experiences years of hardship, never knowing wealth is his. Or if he does find out, a wicked attorney eviscerates the will in court, convincing jurors that only a token gift was intended – or perhaps only well wishes and no financial assistance at all.

In Sense and Sensibility, John visits his father’s deathbed and learns that the law requires everything be left to him and only a small sum to his stepmother and sisters. “Hardly enough to live on,” his father breathes, “You must help them, John. Promise me!”

Later, tightfisted Fanny persuades John not to give a red cent to his sisters. First she whittles down the amount he originally intends, from 3000 pounds to 1500, then 100 pounds annually, to 20 pounds now and then, and finally clinches with, “Although, to say the truth, I’m convinced within myself that your father had no idea of you giving them money.”

Lately I’ve spent some time in John Eldredge’s book
Waking the Dead, which I think may be his best yet (but I haven’t read them all). Chapter One, titled “Arm Yourselves,” is headed by the two quotes I have used above. This one bears repeating often:

The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full. - John 10:10

Eldredge writes,

Have you ever wondered why Jesus married those two statements? . . . he says them in one breath. And he has his reasons. By all means, God intends life for you. But right now that life is opposed. It doesn’t just roll in on a tray. . . . Yes, the offer is life, but you’re going to have to fight for it because there’s an Enemy in your life with a different agenda. . . We are at war.

How I’ve missed this for so long is a mystery to me. Maybe I’ve overlooked it; maybe I’ve chosen not to see. . . .

Where did you think all this opposition was coming from?

Where indeed.

Did we think that a woman having a breast cut off is what Jesus meant by “life more abundant”?

Did we think that a child who dies at the age of 6 is part of God’s plan to “prosper and not to harm us”?

As Fanny tries to convince John, did the Father really intend for His children to only have a visit now and then, rather than any practical help?

The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy;
I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full. John 10:10

If what you believe God has promised you in His Word regarding healing is not what you see actually occurring in your life and the lives of those you love, welcome to the battle.