"Therefore
take up the whole
armor of God, that you may be able to
withstand in the evil day, and having done all,
to stand." Ephesians 6:13
I do not think that
Satan much cares to destroy us Christians
physically. The soldier dead in battle who died
performing some deed of heroism is not a great loss
to the army but may rather be an object of pride to
his country.... So a Christian who dies in the faith
represents no irreparable loss to the forces of
righteousness on earth and certainly no victory for
the devil. But when whole regiments of professed
believers are too timid to fight and too smug to be
ashamed, surely it must bring an astringent smile to
the face of the enemy....
The devil's master strategy for us Christians then
is not to kill us physically (though there may be
some special situations where physical death fits
into his plan better), but to destroy our power
to wage spiritual warfare. And how well he has
succeeded.
The average Christian
these days is a harmless enough thing. God knows. He
is a child wearing with considerable
self-consciousness the harness of the warrior; he is
a sick eaglet that can never mount up with wings; he
is a spent pilgrim who has given up the journey and
sits with a waxy smile trying to get what pleasure
he can from sniffing the wilted flowers he has
plucked by the way. That Incredible Christian, 72.
"Oh God, may I never be 'a harmless enough thing,'
'a child wearing...the harness of the warrior,' 'a
sick eaglet,' 'a spent pilgrim.' Give me grace to
fight valiently. Amen."
From
That Incredible Christian, 72.