Jesus Cropped from the Picture

This Is Not Working for Me

JohnWhite said, “It need not surprise us that as an image to convey the nature of Christian living, the Holy Spirit uses that of warfare. No image could be more apt. The same courage, the same watchfulness, loyalty, endurance, resourcefulness, strength, skill, knowledge of the enemy, the same undying resolve to fight to the end come what may and at whatever cost must characterize Christian living as they do earthly warfare.... To acknowledge Jesus as Savior and Lord is to join an army. Whether you know it or not, you have enlisted .” 64 Why So Much War Talk? In a violent and war-torn world, many people prefer to avoid the language of warfare. Also, because evil actions like crusades, witch hunts, and inquisitions have been associated with Christianity, believers naturally desire to distance themselves from such aggressive terminology. They struggle with the emphasis on soldiering, preferring other biblical metaphors about sheep and pastures, easy yokes, and light burdens. Because the nature of God’s Kingdom is beyond full understanding, God provides a variety of metaphors in the Bible. God is both Warrior and Shepherd, King and Servant, Lion and Lamb. To approach even an elementary understanding of God’s ways, believers need the cumulative effect of all the richness of every biblical metaphor. These images break down if taken by themselves, juxtaposed against each other. “Am I a sheep or a soldier?” is the wrong question. Christians are sheep and soldiers, creatures which have much in common. For example, sheep and soldiers have mortal enemies and

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