I've been reading John Eldredge's Wild At Heart for the past few days. I've had a few conversations about the book even before I started reading it, both with friends who have read it and gotten quite a kick out of it, and with friends who have theological concerns about it. I'm about 100+ pages in, and while I wouldn't say that I agree with every point Eldredge makes, I'm intrigued by a lot of his theories and overall it's really resonating with me. Already I've noticed a number of areas in my life that have been affected by my passivity and a number of assumptions about myself that I've been carrying around for years that are not necessarily true or beneficial. I'm reserving a more full unfolding of my thoughts on this until I finish the book (at least), but thus far it's really gotten me thinking.

One thing that I've been thinking about is the longing for battle, or the attraction of its raw elements for men. Not so much that I want to go join the Army and fight in Iraq or anything like that, but there is a part of me that longs to participate in a heroic conflict, something in which I pit my strength and abilities against a foe that will give me a real fight. Of course it's tied up with Romantic notions of being the chivalrous knight, the freedom fighter, a member of the Fellowship, what-have-you. But I do find it intriguing that when I consider these things there is a voice which tells me Be realistic, you've never been athletic. You're a bookworm, a dice-rolling geek who never got into football or anything physical. You'd like to think of yourself as the heroic officer who leads the charge, but you'd most likely be Private #5 who gets mowed down by stray bullets. That's Reality. It's intriguing to me because it sounds very sensible to me, and yet now that I've committed it to text, I can see that it's not true. I never got into football or any sports in high school, but I played soccer and baseball when I was a kid, and I haven't exactly avoided physical engagement - fencing, racquetball, Campaign (Live-Action Roleplaying will wipe you out pretty quickly; try GMing a game, which will have you running from one side of the campground to the other coordinating events; why, I remember one time when I had to play a rampaging Yeti - wearing a furry jumpsuit and foam full-head mask in 80+ degree weather - and getting caught in a magic bubble by the player characters. It's taxing to be a ferocious ravenous monster for twenty minutes, unable to rest because you're surrounded by an audience).

Still, there's something there that speaks to me that goes deeper than the physical challenge. The idea of striving for something Right and Good, for being a part of a greater conflict, something which really matters, has a strong appeal to me. My attention has lately been drawn to the fact that God has supplied me with such a conflict. Paul specifically referred to it as such, saying "For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places." He urges us to "be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his might. Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil...take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand firm. Stand therefore, having fastened on the belt of truth, and having put on the breastplate of righteousness, and, as shoes for your feet, having put on the readiness given by the gospel of peace. In all circumstances take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming darts of the evil one; and take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God, praying at all times in the Spirit, with all prayer and supplication." As Eldredge points out, in this life, we're not in a sitcom, we're in a war. The stakes are extremely high, and the need for volunteer combatants is high - as Jesus said, "the harvest is plentiful but the laborers are few."

One of the things I hear about quite often is the importance of evangelism. The "Way of the Master" radio show has this as its primary focus, and after listening to them for over a year, this war has become quite apparent to me. Not only are there vast amounts of people who have never been confronted with the true Gospel of Christ, but there are many who think of themselves as Christians and yet have never repented of their sin and placed their trust in Christ for their salvation. A great deal of these believe that they're going to earn their way into Heaven by being "a basically good person", insisting that "God will understand that I've made a few mistakes." Some, even after being confronted with very explicit Biblical warnings of what God has promised for people who break His Law, will cling to this defense. In other words, it's going to be exactly as Jesus warned, "Not everyone who says to me 'Lord, Lord' will enter the kingdom of Heaven..." I hear these testimonies constantly on the show (they play recordings of their on-the-street interviews with people as well as talking to people on the phone), and the two things that amaze me are a) how many people call themselves Christians and yet have beliefs which are completely at odds with what Jesus said (which shouldn't surprise me; I was once the same way), and b) how alike people's responses are to the presentation of the Gospel. The Enemy has tactics, and while they cover many contingencies, they're repetitive, almost predictable. One can become familiar with the strategies the Enemy uses, and, perhaps unsurprisingly, the Scriptures have counter-tactics for them all.

More to the point of this post, God has provided us with all the opportunity for conflict we'll ever need in this life. I've seen more than one book at the bookstore where I work lamenting the current state of church services, bemoaning how dull they are, or how they're not seeker-sensitive enough, or they're not "manly" enough. Yet, as someone else has stated, "Evangelism is the cure to the disease of church boredom." It's not as though Jesus hadn't called us to work, and I can say from experience that the act of approaching a stranger and starting up a conversation about God is one of the more intimidating things you can do. It shouldn't be - you're just talking to another human being, and if God's word has power (as He says it does, and as His apostles demonstrated), what in the world would deter you from trying it? - but it still gives me the shakes. And from what I've been told, this is an entirely common reaction.

This, then, seems to me the real battle. Taking Jesus at His word and following Him - really following Him. Rendering your witness of Christ to others, confronting them with God's Law, warning of the Judgement to come - this requires a great deal of both faith and courage, especially in our society, where the very notion of absolute, transcendent truth is denied and the concept of religion is relegated to therapy, deemed worthy only so long as it 'works for me' and is not considered universally applicable (as Beth once said, "Christianity is not a twelve-step program."). Granted, we're not facing torture or execution for doing this - Praise God - but if you think it a small or trivial thing to do, I offer you a challenge: try it.