Second-hand Allegiance

It’s not as uncommon an occurrence as one might expect to grow up surrounded on all sides by a guard of upright Godly people, fully clothed in battle armour with razor- sharp blades adorning their sides. Yet, with such strength in arms surrounding you and such force in battle alongside you, protecting your back; is it possible to then leave your own weapons and armour back at the strong tower because you never need them?

I’ve heard it said that when you’re walking with God, you can’t help but be a light for others to see from afar off. But it’s a rather strange phenomenon when that light is charged up and made to run from the overflow and excess light of the believers who surround you on a daily basis. You can’t help being built up and feel like you have a perfectly healthy flame when you are surrounded by such champions of the faith all the time. But when those secure people aren’t around you, or their light goes through particularly dark places, then your own light will flicker, falter, and then finally, when you need it most it will go out.

There has always been something entirely bewildering to me about the seemingly illogical choice people make to run back to the horrifying darkness they were so mercifully pulled from. But perhaps they didn’t run back at all; maybe they relied upon the strength within the people daily surrounding them to keep them safe, secure and comfortable. And maybe when those things propping up their faith were not around, fighting incessantly on their behalf, the enemy came upon them in their weakest moment and they could not–did not know how to–protect themselves.

That same horrifying depth of darkness probably doesn’t look so petrifying when cloaked with promises of deep pleasure and happiness as opposed to moths and rust. If those in the ranks of the armies of the enemy always showed themselves for what they are then I would say there would be a lot of people rushing for their weapons. I would also say that is why they prefer to remain hidden.

We are all lost without God. We are all sinners but by His grace. We were all plucked out of the same darkness by his endless reach. And I believe that the ones who have gone back to the pit they were rescued from, God will continue to strive with to bring them back to paths of righteousness and truth.

Live off your own faith; get plugged directly into the primary source of power; replenish your electricity straight from the fountainhead.

You won’t find yourself lost in the dark when you most need to know the way.

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