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You Have Overcome


                 I write to you, dear children, because your sins have been forgiven on account of his name. I write to you, fathers, because you have known him who is from the beginning. I write to you, young men, because you have overcome the evil one. I write to you, dear children, because you have known the Father. I write to you, fathers, because you have known him who is from the beginning. I write to you, young men, because you are strong, and the word of God lives in you, and you have overcome the evil one.  (I John 2:12-14)
 
          Years ago, I read a science fiction story written from a Christian perspective. The only other thing I remember about the story is that I didn’t like the ending because the hero died without accomplishing whatever it was he was supposed to accomplish, but he was welcomed into heaven as a hero – not because he was martyred, but because he was faithful. I’ve grown up a lot since then, but I have to admit, I have some problems with seeing myself, or anyone else, as strong or victorious, or as having overcome the evil one. I tend to equate victory and overcoming with destroying the enemy, with saving the world. Yu now, the sort of thing you see on TV.
         I’ve written a little about this before. We think that the penitent vampire, who wants to be a good person. He gets into a battle with another undead or demonic something and he loses horribly until… he releases the vampire within himself and wipes up the floor with the foe of the week. And we all cheer, or breathe a sigh of relief because once again, Good has prevailed, and the world is safe for another seven days.  But has Good prevailed? Can Good ever prevail if the means of achieving it is evil?
          I’m not going to claim that good people should stand by and watch evil occur. I’m not saying that a sniper who has a chance to take out a mass murderer should not do so because doing so requires that he kill a person. I’m just saying we need to think about these things, and consider whether doing that is enough. What if overcoming evil takes more than that? What if it takes being good ourselves? Not just a little bit good, but one hundred percent good?  What if it takes taking all that evil can dish out without stooping to evil in our response?
          These are important considerations, because if we’re going about it all wrong, we can not hope to overcome.
         

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