One of my favorite scenes from Little House on the Prairie is captured below. In this episode, bullies come to town and begin to accost the townspeople while playing on "Christian" sympathies such as turn the other cheek, forgive others, and love your enemy. While those principles are good and true, there also comes a time when you have got to treat the devil like the devil that he is.
In pictures, sermons, and song, Jesus is often portrayed as a long-haired, hippie-looking wisp of a man who would barely raise His voice or hurt a fly. Yet the Jesus I serve - while being a magnate of love & hope to repentant sinners - was also one who didn't kowtow to the devil. He went through the temple with a whip, turning over the tables of moneychangers in His fury. He often suffered not demons to even speak, but cast them out in power. He turned religious hypocrites on their heads by shooting down deceitful questions with the straightforward truths of God. He addressed Satan directly when needed, taking authority over him and commanding him to get behind Him.
What if the Body of Christ would take such a stand against Satan and his demonic hordes? Instead of complaining about what "da devil" is doing in our lives, what if we determined not to take it a day longer but to exercise the spiritual authority God has given us? What if we didn't try to define Christianity by worldly standards of tolerance & love so that we can be accepted by the masses, but truly sought to be led by the Spirit? If we really follow Christ then some folks are not going to like us and we are going to have to deal with some devils...just like Jesus.
God desires a people who reflect His character and the nature of His Son; who seeks to do what the Father commands as faithful soldiers. Are we really eaten up with the zeal of God's house, of His righteousness, and of the glory of His name? Jesus was.
"For this purpose the Son of God was manifested, that he might destroy the works of the devil." I John 3:8
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