The Sword and the Warrior - Jon Mark Price

As we consider the concept of humbleness, we often find ourselves caught between being humble, and despairing in light of the perfection of God and our failure to measure up to the call of Christ. To help us understand the balance and our place in Gods Kingdom, here is a short parable.

You see yourself taking on the world, the enemy, and all of life’s challenges and temptations as a warrior, and you bravely take up our sword and charge forward into the swarm of the oncoming army. You slash, fight and struggle as you take hit after hit. Covered with wounds, you stagger back to your fortress, falling on the ground, gasping for breath, choking back tears, shamed by your failure.

Then it gets worse. Just as you find the strength to stand, the king approaches. Bloodied, beaten and ashamed, you can’t even meet the king’s gaze.

“I can’t beat them." you say.

“I know.” the King replies.

You look up and see that the king is dressed for battle. Surprised, you ask: “You’re coming?”

The king smiles and takes your hand, saying “I’ll do more than that - I’ll carry you."

At this moment, your perspective is drastically altered. You see that you're not a wounded warrior, but a battered sword now in the king’s hands. He cleans you off and sharpens your blade. As he opens the gate and charges, his enemies flee before him.

The enemy does not fear you, but the one who caries you.

On our own, sooner or later, we will fail. We can never measure up to the standard God calls us to - but God knows that. What’s more, he calls us to humble ourselves and admit our weakness, and be a tool in the hands of the master. If we give God control and make ourselves nothing, we will realize that through God we have already won.