More often than naught, when a commander or king falls in battle, the courage of his troops falters, and the battle is lost.
For example, when the Israelites heard that King Saul and his sons had died fighting the Philistines in 1010 B.C., they fled their cities, and the Philistines moved in to occupy them.
In the Muslim's conquest of Persia in 636 A.D., the Muslim army held out for three days against a Persian army twice their size, until on the fourth day, the Persian general was killed. Then, numbers didn't matter. The Persian army collapsed, and the Muslims surged forward, completing their conquest of the Persian Empire.
At the end of the Hundred Years' War, and after taking the French town of Bordeaux, the English commander was then killed in a fool-hardy charge against cannons. And with the death of their commander, the English retreated while the French advanced and recaptured their town, Bordeaux.
In the Polish-Lithuanian Teutonic War of 1409, the Grand Master was killed outside Grunwald, and his remaining Teutonic knights retreated and were defeated.
I could go on. Throughout history, when the king or general or emperor falls dead or flees or is captured, the courage of his army fails. His campaign comes to an end. The territory is lost.
But not so, in the Kingdom of Heaven.
In God's kingdom, the king's death became the means to victory. Christ's death turned everything on its head because three days later, instead of his empire collapsing as all empires have and will, Christ's empire burst into life, first with Jesus' resurrection and then into the hearts of his followers to spread his kingdom across the world like wildfire.
The death of Heaven's king didn't stop God's invasion of earth, but rather settled the outstanding tribute that we all owe God but refuse to pay. The death of Heaven's king meant that finally, the first ever total surrender of one's own human life was performed for God. Make no mistake, Jesus could've and had every right to invade and forcefully seize our rebel hearts, but he chose to do so by giving up his own life in place of ours.
Now, a new reign has begun, not dominated by kings and masters and money, but the spirit of God ruling in ex-rebel hearts. This spirit unites under one banner people of waring countries. This spirit empowers kings to wash their vassal's feet. It makes the least the greatest, and the poor, rich. Slaves and masters work side by side. And men and women are co-heirs with the Son of God, joining in his conquest of the world.
This seemingly upside-down reorganization of power has transformed weaknesses into strengths. So that now, the most powerful act of human will that we can offer our king, the mightiest flex of our power is to surrender into his hands all we think is ours. And in our emptiness, his fullness then grows.
More on Christ's Work on the Cross: The Gospel for Every Enneagram, A Holy Man's Death, Clarifying Some Christian Phrases, Can't Mess This Up, Everyone's Painted Red, Believing the Store Owner
Posts
Comments