Fierceness

Well I won't back down, no I won't back down
you could stand me up at the gates of hell
but I won't back down
-Tom Petty

Fierceness. It's not the sort of word we usually associate with Christians, Christianity or Jesus. If you were to ask people to associate words with the name Jesus you'd probably get words like compassionate, merciful, loving, sacrifice, etc. All good, all true, all essential to our faith. But if that's the only side we see of Jesus or of our faith then we're cutting ourselves off at the knees. Because while all those words are true of Jesus they're not the whole truth. He's also a passionate and fierce warrior fighting for our freedom.

Christianity is a fighting faith. We were born into a world at war and we live every day as part of a violent clash between two kingdoms. When Christ came to Earth it was an invasion, an act of war. And what He's fighting for is our hearts, our freedom, His right to restore us to who we were always meant to be.

If you could see the look in Jesus's eyes when He thinks about our freedom it would be a gaze you couldn't possibly meet. It would be so fierce, so devoted, so set, stubborn and determined to do whatever He had to to set us free. In Isaiah 63 God tells us that He is in the field warring for us, fighting so hard that His clothes are literally stained red with the blood of His enemies. No wonder Paul asks, "If God is for us who can be against us?"

We have a role in the battle too. We need to develop that same fierceness, as best we can in this life, as we fight for our own freedom and the freedom of others. It's the type of ferocity reflected in the quote I put at the beginning of this point, the type that says it doesn't matter if I'm backed up against all of hell itself, freedom is worth it and I will not back down even if it kills me.

And hell will come. Not only is our freedom opposed but so is any attempt for us to see God as the warrior fighting for our freedom and calling us to fight alongside Him. To survive this fight we're going to need more than just grace, mercy and love. Those are important but we also need the fierceness of Christ when He went to the cross and tore open the kingdom of darkness.

Now it's our turn to follow Him and fight alongside Him. Our world is at war. The enemy's kingdom is going down but it's not there yet. And in the meantime there are many hearts, including yours and mine, that need to be passionately fought for so we can be free and fully alive. Let's recover our fierceness and fight.