It came to me yesterday, that as we speak of demons, evil spirits, and Satan….we have this natural Hollywood picture in our heads that we have a hard time dismissing. We always see this grotesque, evil looking thing but the truth is…..demons, evil spirits and Satan are faceless, with no shape……if anything….what we would see is something that looked like you or me because they inhabit our bodies and minds….they don’t have bodies. Maybe this is why it is so hard for some people to understand them. It would be nice if all evil had some ugly, grotesque face…….it would be a lot easier for us to identify and stay away from evil wouldn’t it?
Well, these entities (for lack of a better word)…….they believe in Jesus too! In fact, they fear Jesus more than some people! Why? Because they KNOW the truth! They know that their doom is sealed! But this is not something that should terrify us! We have been offered the gift of salvation in Jesus….all we have to do is accept it.
Mark 1:25-28 (TNIV)
25 “Be quiet!” said Jesus sternly. “Come out of him!” 26 The evil spirit shook the man violently and came out of him with a shriek. 27 The people were all so amazed that they asked each other, “What is this? A new teaching–and with authority! He even gives orders to evil spirits and they obey him.” 28 News about him spread quickly over the whole region of Galilee.
James 2:19 (TNIV)
You believe that there is one God. Good! Even the demons believe that–and shudder.
SO….why is it that if God is so powerful and that He loves everyone, that evil is not eradicated immediately? This is a question that has puzzled theologians and philosophers for centuries and centuries. The answer is not a simple this or that explanation. However….God has given us an answer, an answer that is spelled out throughout Scriptures from Genesis to Revelation. He loves us sooooo much that He wants us to experience wholeness, He wants us to experience love, He wants us to experience the deepest fulfillment. The t
hread that runs from beginning to end is simply the redemption of mankind….is the free-will to choose a relationship with our Father God, indeed with Jesus, as we apply God’s wisdom, turn from sin and seek a life in relationship with both Him and with others.
If we didn’t have this free-will to choose……we would simply be puppets, playthings if you will. However, what God desires for us, is what I desire for my children: simply that they will know true love and fulfillment in life. If I controlled them…they would never find or achieve this.
God, I believe, in His wisdom, limits His power in a sense, so that we can find and experience truth. I like to say that the truth is: God loves us so much that He will give us what we want. If we don’t want Him…He will, with sadness, gives us that. But there is oh so much more that He wants to gives us…all we have to do is accept a relationship with Him.
The victory over evil in the world is found in and through Jesus! How long are you going to search aimlessly for the answers when they are right in front of you? When I surrendered to God all that I have…I gained all that He has….Jesus!
When we struggle with trials and sorrow in our lives now, we must always remember that Jesus is with us and that He has overcome the world.
