Fact and Fiction

Why should you care?

God did not create “Evil,” therefore Evil doesn’t exist.

However, God did create a sense of “Right” and “Wrong” within us, so that mankind could distinguish between what is actually “Good” and what is merely perverted “Goodness” (Evil).

We called this “Objective Morality” in our last blog discussion.

So hopefully these philosophical ideals do one of two things for you: (1) either you should be relieved because this means that sin, or Evil, is only a perversion of something “Good” that God has in store for you, (2) and/or you now have some sort of hope of overcoming the Evil within this world.

How will you overcome this Darkness? With it’s opposite: the Light of Christ (love). This leads us to our new topic: the hope of the world. But we are getting ahead of ourselves. First, let’s discuss the freedom found within the Christian faith.

 “It’s all for nothing if you don’t have freedom.” —William Wallace, Braveheart.

Now that we understand that Evil is only a perversion of something that is “Good,” one must only seek out the source of that “Goodness” to obtain life. For example, as Christians we understand that sexual intercourse is of itself not Evil within the confines of marriage. It is only destructive when it is abused and committed in acts of fornication or adultery.

Do you see where I am going with this?

There is liberty in the Christian faith, not restraint! There is freedom, not confinement. So long as we know the source of “Goodness” (Jesus), we cannot commit evil… just like it would be senseless to try and spend counterfeit money (Evil) when it is more sensible to spend real monetary currency (God’s Goodness).

Author Timothy Keller in his book, The Reason for God, writes:

“James 1:17 says, ‘Every good and perfect gift comes down from the above… from the father of lights.’ This means that no matter who performs it, every act of goodness, wisdom, talent, and beauty is empowered by God…. He casts them across all humanity, regardless of religious conviction, race, gender, or any other attribute to enrich, brighten, and preserve the world” (2008, p.54).

Thus, all “Goodness” found within humanity has been made available to us because God makes it available! This explains why even the irreligious person can have higher moral standards than the newborn Christian. The non-believer can access the “Goodness” of God despite living in his or her own state of perverted “Goodness.”

This is why secularists and non-Christians always attest to the character flaws within Christians. In fact, it was Mahatma Gandhi who said, “I like your Christ; I do not like your Christians. Your Christians are so unlike your Christ.”

However, Christian theology never claims to have an all-perfect community of believers. On the contrary, it asserts that we have a perfect God who helps guide imperfect persons. He recalibrates our “moral compasses,” so to speak.

This relates back to our previous post of “Objective Morality.” We all have a natural intuition of “Right” and “Wrong”—once we understand where those morals come from, we can discover our purpose.

I must note the key difference between Christian and secularistic morality is that theists (in general) believe that humanity is held accountable for their actions of “Right” and “Wrong.” The god of atheism (or lack thereof) premises, “There is no judgment; do whatever seems right in your own eyes.” The God of Christianity says every man and woman will be judged, “each one according to his works” (Revelation 20:13).

Of course, we must keep in mind that Christ was the propitiation of this judgment of “works” for us. Thus, as Christians, we have gained favor with God because we accepted Christ’s “Goodness” and sacrifice.

The purpose behind the “Goodness”

We are then left with a choice: either we can try to earn “Goodness” through our own naturalistic means (and risk falling into the trap of perverted “Goodness”) or we can open our eyes to the purpose behind the “Goodness”: the grace of God.

“For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast” (Ephesians 2:9).

It is through the grace of God that we find our purpose in life, which is to relay his “Goodness” to the world! The answer to today’s problems must be dealt with by sharing Christ’s love for tomorrow.

There is a malicious darkness, like a disease, that runs rampant on earth; it is called sin—the perversion of “Goodness.” Christ promises that all we have to do is shine his light in the darkness, because, of course, he has already dealt with sin on the cross.

“And you, being dead in your trespasses and the uncircumcision of your flesh, He has made alive together with Him, having forgiven you all trespasses, having wiped out the handwriting of requirements that was against us, which was contrary to us. And He has taken it out of the way, having nailed it to the cross” (Colossians 2:13-14).

The sooner the world realizes there is no more “sin” issue (or Evil) to deal with, the sooner it will discover the “Goodness” that Christ left behind: “Christ in you, the hope of glory” (Colossians 1:27).

Darkness is merely the absence of light

Let’s take a step back. Where were we? Ah yes, we left off with the understanding that “Evil” doesn’t exist and is only perverted “Goodness.”

Here is an excellent metaphor that was shared with me:

There is no such thing as “darkness.” Darkness is merely the absence of light. Scientifically speaking, darkness cannot be measured—not in a room, not in outer space. Light, however, can be measured. We can measure the speed of light, which helps us measure the distances between planets and stars within the great cosmos (light-years). We can also see with Sir Isaac Newton’s “Light Spectrum” that light cannot mix with darkness. In fact, Newton discovered that light can be separated into various shades when shown through a prism.

“Darkness,” however, doesn’t exist—the same way “Evil” doesn’t exist. We experience darkness when we are without light; we experience Evil when we are without God’s Goodness.

Therefore, I feel I must explain that by stating, “Evil doesn’t exist,” I do not mean to say that bad things don’t happen within our world. What I mean to say is human beings are creatures of habit—we take action when there are incentives in place. We wish to obtain “Goodness” in life. Some of us choose to do so with acts of “good” (light), while others commit acts of “Evil”—or perverted “Goodness” (darkness).

My argument for this series is to redefine “Evil”—to establish that God, being all good, cannot create Evil. Instead, he creates a sense of “Right” and “Wrong” within us, which leads us to our new topic: “Objective Morality.”

“I’m right and you’re wrong!”

First, let’s define “subjective” and “objective.”

According to Merriam-Webster’s Dictionary, one of the definitions of “subjective” is a “characteristic of or belonging to reality as perceived rather than as independent of mind.” “Objective,” on the other hand, is “expressing or dealing with facts or conditions as perceived without distortion by personal feelings, prejudices, or interpretations.”

In essence, “subjectivity” means to impose your own thoughts, feelings, will, emotions and prejudices onto different issues of life, whereas “objectivity” means to do the opposite. It doesn’t allow outside forces or circumstances change its “objectiveness.”

In the case of morality, most secularists believe that all notions of “Right” and “Wrong” are purely subjective, inflicted upon us all through sociobiological conditioning.

“I would like to contend that neither good nor evil actually exist because they are man made concepts that help us put into context the actions other people take,” says Ryan Michael, a student and fellow debater from the University of Central Missouri. “They are simply classifications for people to fall into. Just like a minute or a second isn’t a real, natural thing. Things like good and evil ‘exist’ only because humans say and think they do.”

We can see from Ryan’s standpoint that morality is purely subjective; “Right” and “Wrong” are just words to help human beings attribute meaning to actions. This is a popular view held by society. While I would agree that “Right” and “Wrong” are based, to some extent, on our social constructs and environments, there is an “intuition” to mankind—a sixth sense about our inner principles—that gives us a deeper sense of morality.

Timothy Keller summarizes this idea quite nicely when he writes the following scenario:

“One of the most frequent statements I heard was that ‘Every person has to define right and wrong for him- or herself.’ I always responded to the speakers by asking, ‘Is there anyone in the world right now doing things you believe they should stop doing no matter what they personally believe about correctness of their behavior?’ They would invariably say, ‘Yes, of course.’ Then I would ask, ‘Doesn’t that mean that you do believe there is some kind of moral reality that is there that is not defined by us, that must be abided by regardless of what a person feels or thinks?’’’ (The Reason for God, 2008, p. 48). 

Transcendental values?

 Essentially, secularists may deny the possibility of a God (or for the Deist, a Something) who gives us insight into an “objective” morality, but they will always assume (subconsciously, of course) that there is some sort of supreme set of laws that the rest of the world should abide by.

The common person might say, “Murder is bad,” but who decides that murder is wrong? Who sets the Rule of Law for humanity? Whether “Right” or “Wrong” are just verbal constructs established to give us meanings in life is beside the point. What is important is humanity’s natural tendency to judge the world with standards that are, in a way, transcendental or “supreme” above all others.

So where do these “objective,” transcendental standards come from? From evolutionary processes and ‘naturalism’?

Dr. William Lane Craig points out how the sociobiological position undermines itself:

“Given the truth of naturalism, all our beliefs, not just our moral beliefs, are the result of evolution and social conditioning. Thus, the evolutionary account leads to skepticism about knowledge in general. But this is self-defeating because then we should be skeptical of the evolutionary account itself, since it, too, is the product of evolution and social conditioning!” (On Guard, p. 144)

In essence, it is impossible to gain objective morality from evolutionary processes since they, too, fall prey to “subjectivity.” Objective morality then must stem from a third party source, one that is above our naturalistic world.

So we are left with our instincts of morality, which C. S. Lewis believed were key to understanding the universe:

“My argument against God was that the universe seemed so cruel and unjust. But how had I got this idea of just and unjust? A man does not call a line crooked unless he has some idea of a straight line. What was I comparing this universe with when I called it unjust?” (Mere Christianity, 1952, p. 38).

We are then left with one conclusion: since people judge the world with a sense of “objective” standards, there must be transcendental, moral laws that help us create those constructs of “Right” and “Wrong.”

Thus, there must be a God (or a Something) who guides mankind’s moral compass, who gives us a sense of what is “Right” and “Wrong.” A God who is bringing mankind back to a state of “Goodness” rather than perverted “Goodness, or “Evil”—from a state of darkness to light.

For me, his name is Jesus Christ.

(Look for “Evil Doesn’t Exist” pt. 3,

on next week’s post, Friday, May 10).

There is no such thing as “Evil.”

Now, as you read this, your clever little mind is starting to build up a rebuttal case against me. “Of course there is ‘Evil,’ Micah!” you might say. “Look at this world! There are rapists, murderers, idolaters, backbiters, revilers, persecutors, bombers, etc, etc.”

To those people I would like to respond to their eager souls with this question: what if there is no such thing as “Evil,” but instead there are only perversions of what was originally “Good”?

Let that sink in as I continue to muse.

Recently, there have been a great deal of terrors that have stricken the United States. Most notably would be the Boston marathon bombings that occurred last week, which left three people dead and over 200 wounded (depending on the news source you read). For further reading, click here.

So we come back to our original question: how can one not acknowledge the existence of Evil when all of these atrocities are taking place? Or better yet: how can we say there is a loving God when all of these wrongs of society are allowed to take place?

If there is a God, and if he created everything in this world, then he must have created Evil, or at least created the allowance or the propensity for evil to exist. So you see, it seems we are stuck with a dilemma as Christians. Either God is evil because he created Evil, or he is evil because he allows Evil to exist in this world without intervening.

The simple answer

Well, lucky for us all, the answer is quite simple.

God did not create Evil because “Evil” doesn’t exist. The manifestations or attestations of Evil that we see in this world are merely perversions of what was originally good. In the words of C. S. Lewis:

“You can be good for the mere sake of goodness; you cannot be bad for the                              mere sake of badness…. Goodness is, so to speak, itself: badness is only                                  spoiled goodness. And there must be something good first before it can be                            spoiled” (Mere Christianity 44).

Evil then is only “spoiled” Goodness.

Think of a piece of fruit: it does not rot because it was designed to be that way; it rots because a parasite, or some sort of foreign agent, has penetrated its sweet goodness and has begun altering its physicality.

The same principle pertains to our world. This next example might offend you, but if you have already read thus far, I must insist you trudge through.

Take the Tsarnaev brothers (the suspects of last week’s Boston bombing) as another example. Investigators suspect that their motives for blowing up the finish line at the Boston marathon race were because of Islamic nationalism, religious fervor and ideals. Now, is “nationalism” or “religious ideals” of themselves “Evil”? Of course not, but the perversion of those ideals led those two lost souls toward their destructive end, which resulted in innocent lives being lost.

The Tsarnaev brothers did not commit evil for the sake of Evil; they committed evil because they had a perverted sense of obtaining “Goodness.”

Which leads us to the next obvious question: what makes humanity choose Evil—or perverted “Goodness”—instead of what is good and whole? The answer is the deceptive idea that the “fake” thing (Evil) is much better than the real thing (Goodness).

The great deception

We can look to the case of Adam and Eve as a prime example. They were created in the very image of God and were given one command: “Of every tree of the garden you may freely eat; but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day you eat of it you shall surely die” (Genesis 2:16). What did the Devil deceive them with? “You will not surely die. For God knows that in the day you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good from evil” (Genesis 3:4-5). He took what God said—which was based on a truth, mind you—and perverted it to create a lie that seemed much more appealing than the truth.

Thus, every man has suffered the same folly since the beginning of time. We trade the spiritual things for the carnal. Why? Because the deception seems much sweeter than the truth.

So here comes the scary truth. The Devil does not convince humanity to commit evil for the sake of Evil; he convinces them to do wrong in order to achieve something “good.” This is because the greatest lies are always based on simple truths. This is what Satan does; he destroys the world by convincing mankind to commit unspeakable evils in order to obtain some sort of means of “good” in the end.

We must unravel this deception; we must awaken the “Truth” within this world—within us all.

(For more hope about the human situation,

read “Evil Doesn’t Exist” part two next Friday, May 3, 2013)

“Now, can you think what the Mirror of Erised shows us all?” Harry shook his head. “Let me explain. The happiest man on earth would be able to use the Mirror of Erised like a normal mirror, that is, he would look into it and see himself exactly as he is. Does that help?”

Harry thought. Then he said slowly, “It shows us what we want… whatever we want…”

“Yes and no,” said Dumbledore quietly. “It shows us nothing more or less than the deepest, most desperate desire of our hearts….” —J. K. Rowling, Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone.

Like so many people, years ago I was swept away with Rowling’s writings of a young wizard who dares to believe in himself and take on the darkest sorcerer of all time: Voldemort.

However, some evangelical Christians find Rowling’s works of literature offensive; her books seem to promote witchcraft and sorcery to young children, rather than Christian moral values. I would beg to differ. Although her works may not be explicitly Christian, I have found some passages within the Harry Potter Series to be moving and inspiring.

In the scene I have cited, Harry is having a conversation with Professor Dumbledore as they stand before the magical Mirror of Erised. Harry sees his deceased parents within the glassy frame; however, their lively presence is just an illusion. Harry sees them because the Mirror of Erised displays what our hearts yearn for. What Dumbledore says next in the scene is truly significant: “The happiest man on earth would be able to use the Mirror of Erised like a normal mirror, that is, he would look into it and see himself exactly as he is.”

In essence, rather than see the temporary pleasures this world has to offer, a truly happy person would look into the Mirror and see only him or herself.

“Contentment” is difficult for us mortals. We are always seeking for something to fill the void in our hearts, always searching for next “best” thing to bring us joy. However, in order to experience self-satisfaction, we must know who we are in Christ.

Once I read this scene in Harry Potter, it reminded me of this Bible verse:

“For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man observing his natural face in a mirror; for he observes himself, goes away, and immediately forgets what kind of man he was.” —James 1:23-24.

As Christians we must use God’s Word (the Bible) as our own personal Mirror to reveal who we really are in Christ. But James warns us as believers to not only be “hearers” of God’s Word but also “doers.” If we are only hearers of the Word, then we are just like the man who looks into the mirror—much like the Mirror of Erised—and immediately forgets what sort of man he was.

We must never forget who we really are. To look into the Mirror of God’s Word is to truly see and know ourselves. Knowing who we are in Christ brings us contentment and joy! Instead of looking for the momentary pleasures of life that won’t satisfy the longings of our hearts, we must look into the Mirror of the Word, just like Harry looked into the Mirror of Erised, and see ourselves for who really are: God’s children. We as believers must be doers of God’s Words, because it is only when we put knowledge into action that it truly becomes our own. Once we do that, we will find eternal satisfaction in our temporary, earthly lives.

So despite what your personal views may be concerning the Harry Potter Series, my prayer as a Christian is that we take this simple lesson presented in J. K. Rowling’s book and apply it to our lives. As we seek after God through His Word, we will discover who we really are in Christ and find contentment with ourselves.

HOBBITS, notes Tolkien at the start of their eponymous story, are largely forgotten, easily missed and have little or no magic about them.

Or not. In the 75 years since he penned those words, The Hobbit has sold more than 100 million copies. In its opening weekend, Peter Jackson’s first instalment of the movie version broke records around the world. Clearly there is something a little magical about Hobbits after all.

The interesting question, however, is what that magic is. Why should an English boffin’s fairytale of elves, wizards and dragons continue to command such devotion? What craving does it satisfy?

To its literary critics, The Hobbit’s success is simply a sign of widespread immaturity. The story, with its faux mediaeval cadences and reactionary archetypes, is mere escapism—intellectual comfort-food for the politically disengaged.

Throughout the second half of the 20th century, modernists and progressives muttered in protest as this ”juvenile trash” (to quote Edmund Wilson) waxed in popularity and repeatedly won popular votes for most important book and author. A prominent expatriate Australian lamented that Tolkien’s ascendancy was a nightmare come true, and heralded a general flight from reality.

Less dismissive evaluations have tended to focus on broader social contexts. Despair in the wake of the world wars and grief over modernity’s failures are frequently offered as explanations for both the book and its reception. From this angle, Tolkien’s works are seen as both a turning away from contemporary evils and as romantic elegy to a (real or imagined) lost world where humans lived in proximity to nature, objects were made by hand, and battles, if necessary, could be fought with honour.

The two assessments, of course, are not mutually exclusive—the second seeks to explain while the first merely judges. And whether that judgment is fair will depend on the deeper question of whether the romantic sensibility speaks the truth about the human condition or simply avoids it.

In any case, the social-historical perspective is insufficient. If the appeal of The Hobbit and Lord of the Rings were simply a matter of hankering for old times, then surely any historical drama would serve. Why this story in particular? And what part do the supernatural and fantastical elements play in it?

To continue reading, CLICK HERE 

A Disbelieving Society

“Unless I see in His hands the print of the nails, and put my finger into the print of the nails, and put my hand into His side, I will not believe.”

—Thomas, John 20:25

Disbelief is a common attribute that permeates within our culture, especially in Missouri, the “Show-Me” state. So as Christians, how do we “prove” our faith? How does one convince an irreligious person of a non-physical entity, such as God? Is it possible or are we grasping for unobtainable goals?

Recently, I just finished reading Lee Strobel’s The Case for a Creator. Like many written apologetics today, Strobel seeks to tackle the disbelief within society by addressing the scientific issues of pure “physicalism” verses “spiritualism.” He does this by interviewing leading scientists from various fields, ranging from biologists to astronomers. As I read, the one interview that impacted me the most was between Strobel and Dr. J. P. Moreland.

Oh Mother, Where Art Thou?

“I think, therefore I am.”

—Rene Descartes

Dr. Moreland is a specialist in human consciousness and has coauthored several books relating to the subject (for more references, see The Case for Christ p. 253). During the interview, Dr. Moreland describes how science and naturalism can never prove that the mind and the brain are one and the same. In fact, scientific studies have shown that they are actually separate. Here is the analogy Dr. Moreland gave to his daughter when relating this idea of “inner consciousness” to an invisible God:

“Suppose without hurting your mom, we were able to take her apart cell by cell and peek inside each one of them. We would never come to a moment where we would say, ‘Look—here’s what Mommy’s thinking about doing the rest of the day.’ Or ‘Hey, this cell contains Mommy’s feelings.’ Or ‘So this is what Mom believes about pro football.’ We couldn’t find Mommy’s thoughts, beliefs, desires or her feelings…. We’d never find Mommy’s ego or her self…. That’s because Mommy is a person, and persons are invisible. Mommy’s ego and her consciousness are invisible. Now, she’s small enough to have a body, while God is too big to have a body—so let’s pray!” (Strobel, 2004, p. 261).

In essence, you, dear reader, have NEVER seen your mother! While we can probe the physical brain and even shoot electrical impulses through it to generate physical responses, ultimately, our consciousness—our beliefs, attitudes, morals, values, ideologies—are invisible! The only way we come to know each other and what each of us are thinking is by telling one another through language!

An Invisible God Made Visible

As Christians we are charged by Jesus to go into the world and preach the Gospel to a world filled with doubting Thomases (Matt. 28:19-20). However, we have something that our disbelieving world doesn’t have: an invisible God who has made Himself visible through His Word and through us!

Next time someone says they don’t believe in God because they can’t see Him, tell them, “Well, technically you have never seen your mother!” Our inner consciousness is invisible and yet sacred to us all; it defines who we are and what we stand for. God is the invisible Spirit that whispers to our inanimate consciousnesses, longing to be a part of our lives. You and I are meant to reveal the invisible qualities of our loving God, because—of course—He is too big to have only ONE body!

“William wrapped his blanket tighter around his shoulders, trying to stay warm. He then whispered within his heart, ‘All-Father… please, come and speak to me; I want to hear Your voice in this place.’

“’I am going to show you great and mighty things which no one has ever seen before,’  His words suddenly rang in Will’s soul. ’I am going to take you places where no one has ever been. I am going to take you to heights where no one has ever reached. If you will only come to me with all your heart, I will do a mighty work in you, which no man can undo but yourself.’” —M. J. Chrisman, The Remnant: The Legend of the Seer. 

It is moments like these that are so beautiful that we’re left in awe, longing for something spiritual, metaphysical—and yet, that something (or someone) turns out to be more real than anything we could ever hope to experience. It’s those moments when we realize we are insignificant pieces of matter in a colossal universe… and yet, are more significant than any other created things within the cosmos. It is those moments that we realize Jesus Christ is all our hearts are truly searching for in a world where desires are invested in all the wrong places…. Those are the moments we inherently yearn for as a human race.

So the question I pose to you is this: what is it you truly desire? If what you desire only pertains to this mortal life, then you’re missing out on the real issue at hand. What we inherently long for as human beings cannot be satisfied in the physical. Nay… our desires are eternal.

M. J. Chrisman

The breeze wafting across the deck was cool on our skin and had the smell of summer as my friend Andrew and I sat outside, discussing life. Birds lightly chirped in the trees around us, filling the quietness that had settled upon the conversation.

“Micah, why do you want your book to become famous?” Andrew finally asked.

“What? What do you mean? I just want to get it into people’s hands so they can read it!” I replied.

“But… WHY do you want people to read it?” he questioned me emphatically once more. “What’s the purpose behind what you’re doing? Once you know the ‘why’ of what you’re doing, the ‘how’ and the ‘what’ will just come naturally.”

This conversation with my friend Andrew, as simple as it may seem, changed an aspect of how I look at life. It caused me to reflect on ‘what’ I do, which is selling and promoting my book. It even caused me to delve a little deeper into ‘how’ I do it, which is by setting up speaking engagements, doing book signings, and networking with people and businesses. But what I didn’t expect this conversation to do was cause me to delve to the very core of who I am and ask the most important question of all: “WHY do I do what I do?”

People go about their everyday lives working at their jobs and making their livelihoods, and even if they know ‘what’ they are doing, often times they only know ‘how’ to do it. Very few people stop to ask themselves “Why am I doing this?” I am convinced that some of the most influential people throughout history—Henry David Thoreau, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Mahatma Gandhi, Mother Teresa, Albert Einstein—all had one thing in common: they knew ‘why’ they did what they did. When a person can identify his or her mission and motive as to why they believe in their message, they will stand by that belief until the very end. The small list of influential people aforementioned suffered unduly ranges of persecution, whether physical or verbal, for the things they believed and taught. They all had a “life-message,” something that they stood for and wouldn’t allow the outside world to change.

The one person’s life we can look at that exemplifies this idea of “why” the most is Jesus Christ. Just hours before his death, Jesus prays in the Garden of Gethsemane, “Father, I desire that they also whom You gave Me may be with me where I am, that they may behold My glory which You have given Me….”—John 17:24.

Who is He praying for? The whole world; you and I. Jesus, the very Son of God, knew what His mission was… and that was to die on the cross. But He also knew why He was suppose to do it: so that we could behold His glory and become reconciled to Him. His mission was set, His path was gruesome… but His resolve remained ever the same—all because we were his “why,” we were His purpose.

So the question now is what is your “life message”? Why do you do the things you do? Christ died so that you and I could live and have a purpose, to know why we were put on this earth.

“Why”…. such a small word and yet it has such significant meaning. Once you know why God has saved you and why He loves you, the other “whys” of life become all the clearer. Why you wake up in the morning is changed, why you go to work is shifted, and why you love yourself and the people around you is altered.

This simple lesson taught me that becoming a famous, New York Times best-selling author isn’t the real reason as to why I want people to read my book. To have someone read my story and become inspired through its spiritual message of hope, meaning and purpose, is all the reason I need to keep writing and speaking.

So ask yourself “Why?”

“You did it, William; you finally chose to trust in Elohim. It was His power that healed you.” William sat with amazement. “Will,” the man started again with ministering words. “Every man has his greatest fear, and though there cannot be courage without fear, we always have the ability to conquer it. Last night, you finally chose to overcome your greatest fear.”

“What do you mean? Any man would have been afraid of such a monstrous host!”

“Cordom and his army of Semion is not what I speak of.” He paused. “The greatest fear was disbelief… in yourself. Sometimes, before you can overcome the enemy out there,” he stated, pointing toward the distant meadows, “you have to overcome the enemy in here.” Leaning over, he touched William’s chest with his powerful hand, sending a surge of energy throughout his being. “Always remember that fear cripples the strongest of warriors. And though you will face greater terrors than you did last night… you must always remember to do what you did last night and allow Elohim to abolish your fears.”

As they continued down the road, young Will then looked back to the rider and asked, “What is your greatest fear?”

The rider pulled lightly on his horse’s mane, bringing the stallion to a halt. He sighed briefly and looked at the world before them. His eyes narrowed as if he were delving deep into his own consciousness. With a reflective soul, he answered with sincere honesty, “My greatest fear is time wasted—a life spent. My greatest fear is passing away from this world without leaving a lasting impact.”

Once again, this was an iconic scene for me as I wrote “The Legend of the Seer.” Looking back, I can see how much this conversation between William Ore and Lathian Marledon challenged me to ask one of the most daring questions of all: “What is my greatest fear?”

This scene takes place the day after William is forced to face a host of a thousand Semion demons and battle against the demented creature Cordom. When Lathian praises William for overcoming his greatest fear, it seems only natural that Will should respond by thinking the wise Seer is referring to the formidable enemies he faced the night before. However, the true fear that William overcame was his disbelief—in himself.

The symbolism behind it all is that even though we may face real, physical trials in this life, our greatest fears are not always without, but rather are sometimes within. And just as Lathian put it: before we can overcome our enemies and obstacles out in the physical world, sometimes we need to let the Holy Spirit help us defeat the hindrances within our own souls.

Today a good portion of the Body of Christ are squabbling and vengeful beings. On a flip of a dime our closest friends can become our greatest enemies. The Word of God warns us not to war with flesh and blood, but rather to recognize our true enemy: Satan and his demons (2 Cor 10:3). Rather than submit to this revelation, Christians shroud themselves with cloaks of malice and bitterness, relentlessly striving against the proddings of the heavenly Father. I believe the true essence of why people choose to hate rather than to love is because of fear. As 1 John 4:18 puts it: “There is no fear in love; but perfect love casts out fear, because fear involves torment. But he who fears has not been made perfect in love.”

I feel that this message is important for the present day Church, because rather than be filled with the love of the Father, often times we are instead tormented with our greatest fears—never desiring to be freed from them. If we are truly afraid of something, it is because we haven’t allowed the heavenly Father to perfect His love in our hearts. For William Ore, the love He received from the Father not only helped him overcome his fear of disbelief, but it also revealed to him who he really was—a Seer. For us, God is trying to reveal who we really are in Christ—His children. Once we understand this revelation, the careful walls and barriers we have placed between us and the rest of the world will begin to crumble… and true love will begin to eminent from our lives.

If only….

So I would like to pose this question to whoever is brave enough to answer it: What is your greatest fear? As you sink into the deep recesses of yourself, consider this quote as you seek to understand what your greatest fears are and how your heavenly Father wishes to release you from them:

“To love at all is to be vulnerable. Love anything and your heart will be wrung and possibly broken. If you want to make sure of keeping it intact you must give it to no one, not even an animal. Wrap it carefully round with hobbies and little luxuries; avoid all entanglements. Lock it up safe in the casket or coffin of your selfishness. But in that casket, safe, dark, motionless, airless, it will change. It will not be broken; it will become unbreakable, impenetrable, irredeemable. To love is to be vulnerable.”
― C.S. Lewis, The Four Loves.