Spiritual Warfare: In a word or two

A friend lent me the Ted Dekker book, Adam. While talking with another friend, I absently flipped through the back of Ted's book to the printed conversation he had with author and speaker, John Eldredge, about spiritual warfare.

This sentences arrested my heart and pinged with deep level truth. I know what Eldredge is saying, I've lived it, but his expression brought all my understanding and experiences into focus.

The question was: What is the bottom line on spiritual warfare?

JE: The battle is not the point. Evil is not the point. The point is the love story. We live in a love story that is set in the midst of war. When you understand those two things, you will suddenly understand Christianity, and you will understand your own life.

This concise truth blows me away. Eldredge is exactly right. What's going on now is a battle for our affections. Satan wants your affection to draw you away from the greatest love you'll ever know. From healing, intense, deep, passionate, perfect, personal love.

He's created all kinds of "bling" to keep us fascinated, like babies, with elementary values and principles of his world. Money, sex, career, status, entertainment, things, friendships and family, our personal identity even can rob us of our affection (who we think we are.) He makes his trinkets easy to obtain and for the most part, fun.

But Jesus draws us to a deeper love with jewels and gifts that cannot be matched. We must mine for them, be disciplined, draw ourselves away from all the things that so easily capture our affection.

Does food, or a certain television show, or sport, or person ignite your affection? You can feel the exhale, or released, when you know you're going to sit down to a program or with certain food? Or spend time with someone?

Fast food is fun. It's easy. It's temporarily filling. But well-cooked, prepared food like we learn to do on some of the cooking shows takes time. The flavors can be endless, the food nutricious, adding value.

What we can't be is fast food, easy love Believers. We must be aware that Satan is out to steal our affection. Guard your heart and mind with all you have. Give Jesus your affection. Remove those things which get in the way.

He is so worth it!