“We are so utterly ordinary, so common place, while we profess to know a Power the Twentieth Century does not reckon with. But we are ‘harmless,’ and therefore unharmed. We are spiritual pacifists, non-militants, conscientious objectors in this battle-to-the-death with principalities and powers in high places. Meekness must be had for contact with men, but brass, outspoken boldness is required to take part in the comradeship of the Cross. We are ‘sideliners’ – coaching and criticizing the real wrestlers while content to sit by and leave the enemies of God unchallenged. The world cannot hate us, we are too much like its own. Oh that God would make us dangerous!” (pg. 79)
What a scathing rebuke! God has called me to be a soldier on the frontline, not a bystander. God wants me to live an active Christian life, grabbing the world by its horns and wrestling it away from the grip of Satan. Matthew 11:12 says, “…the kingdom of heaven has been forcefully advancing, and forceful men lay hold of it.” What a shame it would be if I took this one life God gave me and did not join the movement of forcefully advancing the Kingdom. There are so many Christians who are content living a “sideliner” kind of life – go to church on Sunday, volunteer your services once in a while, and applaud those who give more than they are willing. This is the kind of Christian life I envisioned for myself until I got a taste of what life was like on the frontlines of the battle. My prayer is that I will never retreat to the sidelines and continue doing battle in the trenches for Christ!
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