The Shield part 1
I always thought Captain America was one of the best super heroes. Smartest, anyway. Because he was a dude who got himself into situations where, quite often, people were shooting at him. So what did he have for a weapon? A shield! It just makes sense. And I think, even at a young age, I always found it more... noble, I guess... to defend than to attack. If you know me at all you know that I will not stand for being attacked. I'll stay on my side of the line as much as humanly possible. But if you cross that line... you get what you get. If you come at me, you'll probably find me. Point being: Don't start nothing, won't be nothing. And other point being: A shield is a very handy thing to have. Look at Psalm 28:7, "The LORD is my strength and my shield; my heart trusted in him, and I am helped: therefore my heart greatly rejoiceth; and with my song will I praise him." Your strength is in defense. Not in attack. Don't attack people. Let people be who they are. Leave people alone. And when someone attacks you... turn the other cheek. Do everything you can do to not escalate the situation. But to me, turning the other cheek doesn't mean standing there and letting someone slap you over and over. I don't think God wants us to be in, or stay in, a bad situation. What father would want their child to be abused? Certainly not our heavenly Father. He wants us to thrive. To enjoy the abundant, everlasting, eternal, Resurrection Life of love that He has given us. He doesn't want us to suffer. Suffering is NOT from God. Proverbs 10:22, "The blessing of the LORD, it maketh rich, and he addeth no sorrow with it." James 1:17, "Every good gift and perfect gift is from above, and cometh down from the Father of lights, with whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning." And one more, "This, then is the message which we have heard of him, and declare unto you, that God is light, and in him is no darkness at all" (1 John 1:5). He doesn't make us rich AND poor. He doesn't pick and choose. It rains on the just and the unjust alike. He is light and there is no darkness in Him at all. No shadow of turning. If He is our shield--and He is--He will defend us. Period. Not some of the time, all of the time. I once read a book about a "parent" who had the "revelation" that he HAD to punish his child. But he also had the idea that he would go through the punishment WITH his child. As if to soften the blow, or some such nonsense. Suffice it to say, I didn't agree. I don't think we need to punish people. I think we need to teach people. You can't give different fruit out of one tree. That tree, the tree of knowledge of good and evil, the tree of death, was cursed and withered and died because it couldn't bear fruit. We can't attack people with one hand and defend them with the other. It has to be consistent. It has to be the love of God, from which there is NO separation. NOTHING can separate us from that love. So that when we need to be defended--and this is the whole point of my Rant tonight--we can run TO God instead of running FROM Him. We can see Him as our protector. Our shield. Our strength. Our help in time of need. We can let God shield us. We can let LOVE shield us. And in that way, we can stand strong no matter what comes our way!