Enemy Occupied Territory

Enemy-occupied territory - that is what this world is. - C.S. Lewis


This quote came to mind the other day when I was thinking about the people around me. Jesus called us to be in the world, and not of the world, and that would lead to the fact that some people are of this world. I started to think about specific people and I began to start categorizing them. I think this little list should help you out.


Allies - These are the people with a true, authentic Christian faith. Not only do they talk the talk, but they walk the walk. More specifically, they walk as Jesus walked. These are the people that love their neighbors as themselves, without forcing any particular religion or denomination on them, but still sharing the Gospel in the way they live. 


The Other Side -The original title I had for this was The Enemy. However, that phrase carries too much with it. An enemy is someone that is avoided, despised, or possibly even killed. This is not how you should approach members of the other side. In fact, this is precisely how Satan wants the Allies to act. If members of the other side are never met by the Allies, then they will never hear the Word of God. If someone never hears and accepts the word of God, then the Devil has won. 


The Other Side is filled with people that have no faith in any sort of God, and have no problem telling you that. Members of the other side that have moved up in the ranks will even spend a great deal of time and energy trying to convince people that there is no God. However, keen observers will notice, that most of these arguments revolve around disproving Christianity. The other side spends a great deal of time trying to disprove what the Allies know to be true, because our God is the only real threat, because our God is the only real God, and they have already won over those that believe in other gods.


The Spy - The spy comes in various forms. One form is the person who claims to be a Christian, but leaves it at that. Another form is that of a person who claims to be Christian, but preaches a gospel different than that which Jesus preached. Another form is the person who claims to be Christian, but lives in a way that is hateful towards others, which is to say living a life contrary to how Christ has told us to live. Spies are people who claim to be Christian and say that things in the Bible did not happen. They claim that the Bible is open to individual interpretation, that I may see something in the Bible one way, another person in a different way, and so on. A hundred people could read a passage from the Bible, have one hundred different takes on it, and all one hundred be right. How that even makes sense, I have no idea. The Spy is the worst of all. The spy may be so deeply undercover that they do not even know which side they are truly on. Unfortunately for the Allies, the Spies are what the world sees as Christianity: Hateful, judgmental, and hypocritical. 


Jesus teaches us to love God with everything we are, and to love our neighbors as ourselves. The other side and the spies will have us believe that these are impossible tasks. They will say things like "It must be impossible, just look at what you're up against. People will not listen to you, and the ones that do will make fun of you. Why even try?" Speaking for myself, and perhaps other allies, we have all heard this argument. The other side and the one they report to will do anything to keep you down. I will end with this: The other side and the spies may have a numerical advantage, but with God there is everlasting strength, which will win in the end.




Amen.