A Warrior Thought

Recently I have been re-watching the Avatar: the Last Airbender TV series (elementary, I know - but hey, I like it). The show is about a boy's journey to becoming a man and saving the world. I also recently saw the new movie The Avengers. Each of these media encounters seemed to prompt the same emotion within me. In each case I leave with a sense of awe, wishing that I could also have special powers, wishing that I could fall in love with the damsel, and wishing that I could ... be so significant. This honestly reminds me of the time I read the first third of Wild at Heart (never been much of a reader).

Something about seeing other men rise to the challenge awakens my nature, but looking at this realistically, the majority of us are not going to be called into the great beyond with the fate of a multitude of people resting on our impending performance. And if there will be no tangible place to channel the feeling, then why is this feeling even there at all? Wild at Heart basically states that the answer is Jesus, and I completely agree.

I think that the way I typically live warrants no passion. Think about it. The most passionate moments in these movies are the riskiest moments, and whats more, the warrior that experiences risk only gets there because he has prepared himself. He has trained with diligence and disciple, ready for the fight to come. Spiritually I do nothing that warrants life. I cannot even convince myself to read Scripture consistently. I think that I consistently live in the shade of spiritual war while I ignore that which is casting the shadow.

I believe that the reality of what spiritually is will parallel the reality of what emotionally is. In other words, the internal connection I have with heroes only reveals the power of what is happening around me. I think that God has wired me to passionately respond in times of need so that when He brands the need of the world on my heart I will be passionate and self-sacrificing about His purposes.

This thought presents a challenge:

I want to let God put me on the front lines. To fight the war, I have to see the war. 


Patience, though, because my God is sovereign.

My prayer:
"God, please teach me to live a warrior's life. I know You have wired me to do battle for a reason. I want this desire to be filled, and I want You to be the one to do it. I am tired of trying to fill the desires You have placed with things that are not of You. Teach me to trust You more than that. I want to see it. I want to fight in it."