I do believe some parents do live out their unfulfilled childhood dreams through their children. My childhood dream was to be a Kung Fu fighter, but I was never able to fulfill that dream; so, now I am living that dream out through my son. Hudson, started Tae Kwon Do last week, and I was more excited than Hudson.
I took him to the Tae Kwon Do class, and we met the master and got a free uniform. Hudson couldn’t wait to put on the uniform at home and act like a great fighter. I immediately started to stretch his legs and told him that he needed to be able to do a split in order to kick above his head. We were excited, and we couldn’t wait for the first day of Tae Kwon Do.
On the first day, before he was able to step onto the floor, he had to bow to the flag and then bow to the master. After stretching, the first thing he learned was how to scream “Kee-App!” in a fighting position. The master told Hudson to put on a fighting face (you can see the intensity on his face) and showed him how to do a front kick. I was impressed with how quickly the master got the students into a fighting mentality.
The moment Hudson entered the realm of the training floor, he was no longer on the playground but on the battleground. Hudson had to take off his regular clothes and put on the uniform. Then, the battle became a reality. As a Christian, the moment you become a Christ follower you are awakened to the real battle zone. Here, you must you put off the old self and put on Christ. Then, you enter not onto the playground of comfort zone but onto the battleground of warfare zone.
Often, we live as if we are on the playground because we are deceived by the counterfeit pleasures that only satisfy our flesh. We live as if we are dismissed from the battleground, because we think that we can choose to be in the battle or not. Thus, we seek God as civilians living in a comfort zone and not as soldiers fighting in the battle zone. In the “Lord of the Rings,” Théoden said, “I will not risk open war.” Aragorn replied, “Open war is upon you, whether you would risk it or not.”
Peter tells us to stay alert because our enemy is not playing hide-and-go-seek but playing to devour someone (1 Peter 5:8). However, often Christians are unaware of the apparent spiritual conflicts that are taking place in our lives. So many Christians have become preoccupied with success and wealth; they become drawn to the prosperity gospel. Can the prosperity gospel be preached in Sudan while racial genocide is taking place? Can prosperity gospel be preached in India where Christians are being martyred?
At the age of seventeen, Hudson Taylor realized deep within his soul that there was a painful deadness. Although he gladly accepted the Lord, he found himself yielding to temptations and disengaging from private prayer and study of the Word of God. Coldness of heart crept in as the deadening influence of sin made him feel like a slave to sin.
During his struggles, Hudson Taylor only comprehended two paths: One is to sink down to a low-level Christian life where there is neither joy nor power. The other is to be holy for the Lord and claim complete deliverance not only from guilt but also from the mystery of sin. For Hudson Taylor, the deadness of the soul due to backsliding was worse than death.
My dearest brothers and sisters, let the Word of God be awakened to you today so that you may know your position in Christ. We stand in the presence of God by Christ’s righteousness (Rom. 8:1; Eph. 1:6). We also share His victory over the powers of evil (Col. 2:9-10, 15), and we are delivered from the realm of Satan’s dominion (Heb. 2:14-15). We are seated with Christ far above all principality and power (Eph. 1:21-22; 2:6). Thus, we operate against Satan from the position of victory!
We don’t fight from a defeated position to work against the grace of God to achieve victory. We fight from the position of Christ’s victory. Christ is our Prince of Victory, and He is exalted above all powers. Take your stand today and submit yourself to God’s promises (Romans 8:31-39). May the measure of your submission to the Word of God be the measure of devil’s fleeing (James 4:4-10).
P. Tae
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