“Do not suppose that I have come to bring peace to the earth. I did not come to bring peace, but a sword. For I have come to turn
“‘a man against his father,
a daughter against her mother,
a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law—"
a daughter against her mother,
a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law—"
a man’s enemies will be the members of his own household. (Matthew 10:34-36)
I finished reading Hearing God yesterday. Today, I pulled Waking the Dead by John Eldridge from the shelf. In a way, it begins with one of the same issues discussed in Hearing God. If God speaks to us, why is it we have such a hard time hearing Him or figuring out He’s the one speaking? Why is life so hard? Why does it “always” feel like we’re in a funhouse with its mirrors that distort? We’ve been saved, so why is it we so often feel lost? We’re like the disciples in the boat, in the storm, shoving at Jesus and asking, “Don’t You care that we’re going to drown?”
Mr. Eldridge’s response is that we’re at war, and in this war, those closest to us are often the beloved enemies. They may even be Christian and still be our enemies. Consider Peter’s rebuke of Jesus. Consider Judas’ betrayal.
What would remembering that we’re in a war change about our perspective on life? Some of us might imitate Morpheus from Matrix, with his “come at me” gesture. Others might want to hide behind, or under, a rock. I’m closer to the latter. I just want life to be simple. I want to be invisible. I want to write books that matter without having to worry about money, or housekeeping, or errands, or estates. I long, it seems, for a cocoon.
And I know, I’ve lived a very blessed life. That’s probably part of the trouble. Other people are battle-hardened warriors. I don’t think I am, but the battle we fight isn’t like the battles fought in the Marvel Universe. It’s a battle of words, of ideas, and misdirection.
Several years ago, I listened to a talk about this kind of battle. During World War II, there was a Ghost Army whose job it was to distract the Germans by making it look like we had forces we didn’t. There were inflatable and wooden tanks and manikin soldiers. There were also people like the Tokyo Roses. The war in which we fight is a Gaslighting War, in which the enemy “seeks to sow seeds of doubt in a targeted individual or in members of a targeted group, making them question their own memory, perception, and sanity. Using persistent denial, misdirection, contradiction, and lying, it attempts to destabilize the victim and delegitimize the victim's belief.” (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gaslighting)
This is why we need to be in the Word, and the Word in us, and why we need to pray that we might see clearly.
Mr. Eldridge’s response is that we’re at war, and in this war, those closest to us are often the beloved enemies. They may even be Christian and still be our enemies. Consider Peter’s rebuke of Jesus. Consider Judas’ betrayal.
What would remembering that we’re in a war change about our perspective on life? Some of us might imitate Morpheus from Matrix, with his “come at me” gesture. Others might want to hide behind, or under, a rock. I’m closer to the latter. I just want life to be simple. I want to be invisible. I want to write books that matter without having to worry about money, or housekeeping, or errands, or estates. I long, it seems, for a cocoon.
And I know, I’ve lived a very blessed life. That’s probably part of the trouble. Other people are battle-hardened warriors. I don’t think I am, but the battle we fight isn’t like the battles fought in the Marvel Universe. It’s a battle of words, of ideas, and misdirection.
Several years ago, I listened to a talk about this kind of battle. During World War II, there was a Ghost Army whose job it was to distract the Germans by making it look like we had forces we didn’t. There were inflatable and wooden tanks and manikin soldiers. There were also people like the Tokyo Roses. The war in which we fight is a Gaslighting War, in which the enemy “seeks to sow seeds of doubt in a targeted individual or in members of a targeted group, making them question their own memory, perception, and sanity. Using persistent denial, misdirection, contradiction, and lying, it attempts to destabilize the victim and delegitimize the victim's belief.” (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gaslighting)
This is why we need to be in the Word, and the Word in us, and why we need to pray that we might see clearly.
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