~He's waiting for warrior Jesus to climb that trail~
Though his body says stop
His spirit cries, Never!
Deep in our soul a quiet ember
Know it's you against you
It's the paradox that drives us on
It's a battle of wills
In the heat of attack
It's that passion that kills
The victory is yours alone
~Burning Heart, Survivor~
I've never considered myself a warrior, a fighter or a hero of some kind. In fact, I've often felt that that drive, that desire within me was due to something being wrong with me. Maybe I needed some kind of counseling or something. Don't get me wrong, having dedication can be a good thing on many occasions. Countless people have applied it to whatever they have attempted. But what about that guy who doesn't seem to have that drive? What is his fate? Well, that was me, or so I thought. Sure, I would make plans and goals, but all too often I would put them aside as they became too difficult to attain. Some warrior huh? I figure that if our ancestors had this attitude that Washington would never have crossed the Delaware nor would the cowboys have pushed west. All too often the status quo of our everyday life seems like the safest bet in the house. Yes, this is what I used to believe about myself. Until I noticed something strange. My mother would often tell me the story of her youngest son (me) and how he would become frustrated as he built another model airplane. All too often I remember her telling me to put away my project and pick it up another time. I'm thinking she thought I needed a cooling off period as I could become pretty frustrated at these moments. Years later she would smile as she told me how I would all too often look at her with a look of determination and tell her "Mom, let me do it!" The warriors code. We may not notice it within us, but it surfaces in ways we might not recognize. That will to finish, that desire to complete what is set in front of us. It's in these moments where we will not be denied. I honestly cannot recall a time when my mom would use her parental authority when that desire within me dictated that I finish what I was doing. On the contrary, she would quietly let me continue. Then something else would happen...I would run to my mom to show her my latest completed project. I'd done it! I'd crossed that river and faced the enemies gunfire to finish what I had started! Well, at least that's how I felt at the time.
13I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.
Philippians 4: 13 NKJV
Some years ago, John Eldredge wrote what has become known as one of the owners manuals for the heart of the Godly man. In Wild At Heart, Eldredge lays open the heart of every man. That man in all of us who desires to fight that desperate battle, save the maiden and bravely lead those around him. The warriors code. I've since come to realize that this wild and brazen heart within every man is not something which is taught, learned or purchased. No, that restless spirit within us which Eldredge has made a living trying to illustrate has always been there. You might say that it's a part of our very DNA. We know that within us today is the very Spirit of Christ Jesus {Galations 2:20}. We can truthfully proclaim that Jesus lives through us today. For how would we know the nature of our heavenly Father if not for His very image in Christ? {Colossions 1:15}. In fact, we are assured that we also are created in His own image {Genesis 1:27}. Now, I seldom have seen Jesus as a warrior, but I now know that it is from His own DNA from which I am all that I have become. It is Christ Jesus who wandered the wilderness for weeks as He endured the temptations of satan. It is Jesus who walked through His life of ministry knowing in His own heart that He would give Himself that others might live. And, it is Jesus who suffered the persecutions and torture of those who crucified Him. All for us. If Jesus is not that embodiment of the warriors code then nobody is. And if Christ is the embodiment of the warriors code...then it is through Him that I am as well. I am that hero, that adventurer and that knight. I am that warrior.
I remember being with Dennis at the trailhead of Angels Rest as I looked uphill of that rocky trail wondering if I could make the climb. Well, I spent a good part of that morning more nervous than a long tailed cat in a room full of rocking chairs, but then something strange happened. Not too far from the summit of the trail, something within me staked the claim that I could, and would conquer that climb. In fact, I actually started to enjoy the trail we were on instead of worrying about my surroundings. Now, for his part, Dennis never pushed me, he simply walked along with me. The enormity of my conquest didn't hit me until we were almost down the trail as I walked in the victory of my accomplishment. I had slain my dragon! The warriors code.
20“I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me."
Galations 2:20 NKJV
~Scott~
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