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The Devil's Work

         The one who does what is sinful is of the devil, because the devil has been sinning from the beginning. The reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the devil’s work. (I John 3:8)

         The Lord your God will drive out those nations before you, little by little. You will not be allowed to eliminate them all at once, or the wild animals will multiply around you. (Deuteronomy 7:22)

             The Israelites who entered the promised land likely thought that God was going to hand them the whole land, wiping out all their enemies in a day. God warned them He wasn’t going to do that. Later, the first town God handed them was made a ruin as they watched. The second town cost them dearly because they didn’t do things right in the first town. Eventually, some of the Israelites came to complain to Joshua because they didn’t have enough land, but they hadn’t done anything about it for themselves.

            When we hear, then, that the reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the devil’s work, and we look around our lives or the lives of others who are supposed to be “spiritual,” and things aren’t all we think they should be, we start blaming God, ourselves, or others. If we are Christians, we’re to be perfect, and if we’re not perfect, that proves that God doesn’t exist or that we’re hypocrites pretending to be Christians when we really aren’t. Or so some say.

            But when Jesus appeared on Earth, He didn’t take over. He grew up. He taught imperfect disciples who didn’t become perfect at Pentecost. So Jesus’ appearing meaning the destruction of the devil’s work, wasn’t any more instantaneous than the conquest of the promised land.

            Whether we are talking about the world out there or the world between our ears and behind our eyes (or in our hearts or souls), the point is the same. God is at work. We should participate in and cooperate in that work with all our heart, soul, mind, and strength, but first off, we’re going to fail, and secondly, our failures don’t mean that Jesus and we aren’t winning. It means there’s a battle going on that hasn’t been won yet. The devil’s work will be destroyed – in His time.

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