I didn't succeed this weekend. My debate tournament was an almost-success {ie not a success}.
But both my partner and I got chances to share the Gospel. We barely missed the cutoff to advance to novice finals. Yet in sharing the Gospel I got a glimpse of true victory, a taste of something far better than any debate victory on earth. I got a sliver of eternity, truth, light. God.
When we say that the battle is the Lord’s, and the victory is God’s, do we ever stop to consider the reality that victory might mean something completely different to God than it does to us? Do we forget that the battle in this world is not with men, but with powers and principalities? We’re fighting the wrong enemy, people. God so loved the world. He doesn’t hate the world. He hates sin and evil and Satan. He hates the way he’s perverted the world. And he knows that ultimately (in a very righteous way), all the glory must go to him. So for him the battle is twofold: kill evil and bring his kingdom. For his glory. He’ll fight darkness with light. He’ll put angels against demons. He’ll harden hearts or melt them. He’ll build up kingdoms and tear them down. He’ll fight to the end, because he already has the victory. For his glory. He already conquered death through his Son. He made the ultimate payment for every sin on the cross. He took it all to hell. He won the battle, and returned to heaven. And soon he’ll come again. For his glory.
And we completely miss the point. Don’t get me wrong -- I firmly believe that every battle is the Lord’s, and every true victory is his. But we can get so caught up in our achievements and failures that we miss the bigger picture: it’s his glory. It’s his kingdom. It’s his battle, on his battlefield, with his playbook. It’s his victory, with all the gains and losses on his terms.
That sounds slightly terrifying. And if you’re not in his team, you better believe me, it is. Because you’re going to be getting those losses pretty hard. Jesus made it clear he doesn’t like “lukewarm” people. You’re with him or you’re not. If you’re not, you get eternity apart from God, suffering. Real, hard, brutal, suffering. Forever.
But if you’re on the winning team, what a glorious thing this is. You could lose everything here on earth. And while I sincerely hope that doesn’t happen to you, it wouldn’t ultimately matter. Because you get an eternity with a God who loves and wants you in a way no human can fathom. You get beauty forever. You get to live in a perfect society on a perfect earth with perfect people. No joke. No opiates involved. Just serious, pure bliss.
Why?
Because joy is something that transcends circumstances on this earth. It's otherworldly. The only other “world” is God’s spiritual world {coming soon to a new earth near you}. And when that new earth comes, your joy will be complete. Because God is the source of joy. He completes us in a beautiful, indescribable way. In fact, he makes us. He knows about that weird birthmark you have...he made it. He thinks it’s beautiful. He knows the pain you’re struggling with...he’s weaving a beautiful picture out of it.
{Today someone asked me about the problem of pain in the universe. And while I have a long, philosophical answer that I’d love to give her sometime, I think the short answer is better: pain is as real as a part of a painting is real. No one doubts its reality. Everyone just sees it as part of the whole, often a necessary element of beauty. Art critics can dedicate whole books to a single detail of a painting -- look at the Mona Lisa smile. So mysterious, such an important detail of the painting. Perhaps one of the most important details of all art history. Yet in spite of the attention it gets, it's only mysterious, it’s only beautiful, in context of the larger painting. Just the smile, without context, is awkward.
So it is with pain. Pain is real. It hurts. It's awkward, because it seems like it doesn't belong. I don’t doubt its existence. If you want to talk to me about pain, please do. I want to know your pain, because I’ve had a lot of pain in my life, and I feel yours. If that pain is consuming you right now, I understand. But, no matter how cliche it sounds, please remember this: your pain is part of a picture. In some people’s cases, it may become the Mona Lisa Smile: the focus of the painting. Yet it's still a part of the most recognizable, and arguably one of the most beautiful paintings of all time.}
Why can I say that? Because God is good and he is working all things for his glory. We get so wrapped up in our identities, and we forget that every single time God is ready to give us something far better than our current identities.
Identities that come from what we accomplish or where we fall short.
But someone else can always do better than you at something somewhere. True fact. God replaces that with the reward of his kingdom. We get everything. And if you accept his love he refuses to judge you on any accomplishments or failures at all.
Identities from how many good or bad things we’ve done.
But God says he wants perfect righteousness. One bad thing makes you a bad person. Yet if you accept him he says all your sins, your bad deeds, are wiped away. You are clean, no matter what mistakes you have made or will make.
Identities from what kind of friend groups we have.
Your friends may be awesome, but they’ll die or some of them will move on. God will love you no matter what. Forever and ever, because he never dies, never moves on.
Identities from what kinds of experiences and emotions we have to show for as a person.
But conglomerate emotions cancel out. Or they just pile on and make a mess of a person. And God says he will let you cry. He will let you laugh. Because he gave you those emotions. But he’ll never try to define you based on an emotion.
Sometimes we’ll even realize those things are wrong and try to find our identities in the fact that we are people. But that’s pretty hopeless, too. Because humans are fallen. We try to improve things, yes. Of course we do! But that’s because there’s something to improve. Because something is seriously wrong in our world.
Because we need a Savior.
Our Savior takes our brokenness and gives us his healing. He takes our pain and gives us his joy. He takes our failures and gives us his kingdom. He takes our broken world. And he takes us. He looks at us and pities our brokenness. He has compassion. And so he loves us.
Jesus gives an entirely new identity: loved child of the king. No catch at all. Just loved, and getting everything imaginable for an inheritance forever.
Meanwhile, he fights. He doesn’t fight us. He fights evil itself. And he fights to give us our kingdom.
We get to rest. Because the most powerful being in the universe is not up against us. If we trust him, he is for us. He is with us. All he asks is that we willingly work with him as soldiers in the fight to protect what is now our own kingdom.
But if we fail, if we’re weak, it’s okay. He’ll still pick us up, carry us, help us do things we never dreamed we could accomplish. And he’ll fight on, knowing the victory is already his.
The battle is the Lord’s.
{Soli Deo Gloria}
