Mel Gibson's Apocalypto was on tv last night. I've seen it before, but rather enjoyed watching it again even though that meant staying up a bit late.When I did go to bed I lay awake thinking about the film a bit & one small thought filtered through.
Here was a story of a man who was on the run from an enemy, a man who ran & fought, ran & fought. He ran away from his pursuers but also took opportunities to attack them.
But he wasn't just running away from something, he was running toward something. In this case his pregnant wife & son who were stuck down a hole in which they'd hidden from the attackers who trailed everyone off to sacrifice to false gods.
Running Away/Running To
We as Christians are called to run in a similar way; away from our adversary (in our case; satan, our sinful desires & the world) & to run toward Christ.
1 Timothy 6:11
"But as for you, O man of God, flee these things. Pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, steadfastness, gentleness."
In previous verses (6:1-10) Paul warns of false teachers, pride, seeking controversy & quarrels, envy, slander, evil suspicions, depraved minds, desire for riches & senseless & harmful desires that lead to ruin & destruction.
2 Timothy 2:22 "So flee youthful passions and pursue righteousness, faith, love, and peace, along with those who call on the Lord from a pure heart."
Fight
James 4:7 "Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you."
Ephesians 6:10 "Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his might. Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil."
We are then given a run down of the weaponry which you can read in Ephesians 6.
Summary
Lets flee hard & fight against that which would hold us captive & waste our lives as we sacrifice them to false gods & mere functional saviours. But let's not only flee them, let us run hard, pursuing after the great, glorious Christ.
