Ding Dong

 

  Click to watch scene from Wizard of Oz

     In a climactic moment of the Wizard of Oz,  the Wicked Witch of the West has Dorothy, the Tin Man, Scarecrow, Cowardly Lion ,and Toto trapped in the Castle by her Soldiers and Monkeys, and is preparing to kill them.   Not only that, she tells them that "The last to go will see the others go before her, and her mangy little dog, too."  She is preparing to execute Dorothy's friends in front of her.  Truly a wicked thing to do.  She starts with Scarecrow and brings fire from a nearby torch to set him on fire which she does as she laughs a wicked laugh.  In an attempt to put out the fire, Dorothy throws water on the scarecrow, which spills onto the witch.  Dorothy doesn't know it, but water causes the witch to melt, thereby saving them all from death.

     In her final words, the witch is astounded that a sweet little girl trying to help her friend causes the destruction of herself and her plans. Wicked Witch of the West: You cursed brat! Look what you've done! I'm melting! melting! Oh, what a world! What a world! Who would have thought a good little girl like you could destroy my beautiful wickedness? Oooooh, look out! I'm going! Oooooh! Ooooooh!
The soldiers, realizing the witch is gone, begin to celebrate their freedom and pledge their allegiance to Dorothy who has saved them also. "Hail Dorothy, the wicked witch is dead!"

      The eye-opening truth is that we are confronted with wickedness in our world everyday.  We are sometimes unaware that the battles we face are "not against flesh and blood,but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms." (Ephesians 6:12) The powers of wickedness are very real and as a society we are fighting it less and accepting it more. Americans are becoming the soldiers and monkeys who do not want to follow evil but feel trapped and have aligned with the enemy looking for a way to survive. They are so happy when they are rescued from the trap of evil's domination and are set free to live. It must begin with our own individual lives.
The truth is that evil spiritual authorities have gained control because we have given them control. We have given them control by accepting evil practices into our lives. If we give evil a foothold, evil has authority to take control of all of our lives and then our communities followed by our nation.

     How is evil destroyed? The witch wanted Dorothy's power held by the ruby slippers. She was unable to take the power unless Dorothy was destroyed and the life was gone from her. Satan wants to take our power, the power we have been given as we possess the Holy Spirit in our lives. Our power is stronger than evil. "I give them life forever and they will never die, no one can snatch them from my hand." John 10:18. And evil is defeated as easily as throwing water on a fire for those who have aligned themselves with the power of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. The power of Satan melts when sprinkled by the blood of Jesus.
     Who would have thought that good could destroy wickedness so easily. The power comes from those who possess the presence of the Holy Spirit within their lives because they have become devoted followers of Jesus. As the power destroys evil, the presence of the Holy Spirit brings peace and eliminates fear. Peace of knowing that the wicked witches of sin, abuse, sexual entanglement, addiction, and more can be melted away with a continual washing of forgiveness and restoration.
     "Hail Jesus, You have given us freedom from evil !" Although evil attacks constantly, there is no fear. I love the part of the movie where the Good Witch tells the Wicked Witch without an ounce of fear, "You have no power here!, Be Gone, Before Someone Drops a House on You!" That is the way we can approach the attacks of Evil, knowing we possess the power that so easily overcomes. Our everlasting life begins on earth and continues throughout our lives and into eternity when we spend forever with God in Heaven. Then our hearts can rejoice that we have left this world of evil attacks and can say, "There's No Place Like Home!"

Why follow?

The question of why to follow Jesus has come to the forefront of several conversations I've had recently.  The latest one began a facebook discussion about children being scared into making spiritual decisions by threats of Hell.  Everyone in the discussion agreed that this is not the way to share the gospel with children.
Because of the limitations of the facebook format, I wanted to expand on the discussion but not take up my friend's entire page.  Here is what I wanted to add.

The statement in a meme was, "If you need the threat of eternal torture to be a good person, you are not a good person."

This was not created by my friend but has been passed around.  My problem with it is that it pre-supposes the wrong question on many levels.  During our good discussion, it was revealed that many had experienced well-meaning church people who had boiled the entire Christian experience down to "Be Good or you'll go to Hell."  This is still the wrong understanding.  The part that is wrong is probably not the part you think I have a problem with.  The part that is throwing us off here is the "Be Good" part.

     I believe that if you asked Billy Graham if he considers himself a good person, he would say "NO."  Billy Graham knows better than anyone else what goes on and has gone on in his mind and his life.  Although Billy Graham strives to live a life that pleases God, he knows that the ability to live that way does not come from his efforts to "be good."  It does not come from him changing his ways because he fears Hell.  I believe he would tell you that "there is no one righteous (good), no not one." (Romans 3:10.)   The "goodness" in his life comes from his reliance upon God to live through him.  He has given up his own life in order to ask God to bring him a better one.
     God is the only truly "good person."   It cannot be coerced, at least not for very long, because we are imperfect.  Without a reliance upon God, we eventually hurt others, and ourselves.  Even our reliance upon God is imperfect and we do "bad things."  God resets us when we realize our imperfectness and turn to him to find the source of goodness.  When asked why I follow God, I don't begin with "because I fear Hell."  
     It's like asking someone why they are eating and they respond, "Because I have heard so many horror stories about people starving to death."  I usually eat  because of the wonderful, sweet, experience of eating and the fact that it fulfills a basic desire of my creation.  Its the same reason I follow God.  Sometimes I eat ice cream and sometimes I eat oatmeal, but I don't eat out of the fear of starvation.
     I am glad someone taught me that the result of not eating is starvation.  I am glad someone taught me that the result of not following God is to be separated from Him once this earthly life is over.  In both situations, it is a truth I understand, but not a fearful, daily motivating factor in my life.  I have experienced great food that sustains me and also brings me pleasure.  I have experienced the great joys of living according to God's plans which also sustains me and brings me pleasure.

     Finally, the biggest misunderstanding of the statement that started this discussion is that it pre-supposes that the goal of Christianity is to become a good person.  There are plenty of people trying to be a good person.  They are kind to others, they love and protect animals, they take care of the environment, and they try to give good and uplifting advice that they hope will keep others from making mistakes.  I think Christians should do the same things.  But God's priority for our lives is not to be a good person foremost.  That is where the "love your neighbor" part come in.  But first and foremost He has a different goal.
     Jesus said, "I have come that you may have life and have it in abundance."
God gives us the opportunity to follow him not to be good, but to be alive.  Our imperfection and failure to be good all the time has already negated our ability to survive spiritually in the presence of a perfect God.
God in his own goodness gave us the opportunity to give up our lives in exchange for the perfect life lived by Jesus.  Then we can have life and survive in the presence of a perfect God.
   
Jesus did not come into the world to make bad people good.  He came to make dead people live.
That is why I follow Him.