News Detail
The Enemy? BLOCKED!
by John Bishop, Director of Spiritual Formation
Westley the Warrior is outfitted in armor. These plates of steel are forged in fire and hammered into shape. They protect him from the attacks that any soldier will inevitably face in battle.
In Ephesians 6:10-17 we see all the same provisions of faith symbolically provided to us as believers. A full array of spiritual armor: the belt of truth, a breastplate of righteousness, boots of peace, a shield of faith, a helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit.
The implication is clear. We need to be protected as soldiers because we’re waging a spiritual war. There is an enemy that must be fought, and if we’re going to fight a spiritual war, we need to put on armor.
Imagine trying to win your next basketball game or volleyball game without playing defense. Impossible! The other team would capitalize on every weakness and destroy you no matter how many points you tried to put up. You would also choke out your opportunity to score because every great offensive strategy begins with stopping the momentum and progress of the other team.
We cannot expect to win the spiritual contest of our lives with offense alone. It’s great that we are a Christian school, that we have chapels, Bible classes, prayer, cabin times and all the rest. We hope that our greatest spiritual efforts put points on the board, but if we walk out of Bible class or chapel without playing defense against an enemy trying to gain victory over our souls we can’t hope to win.
One of the darkest moments of World War II for England was when France capitulated to Germany and bowed out of the fight. France paid dearly for their decision, but possibly more costly was the utter isolation experienced by England following France’s fall. Once France abandoned the defense of their own borders England was left to face a nearly ceaseless barrage of technologically advanced, deadly, and successful air raids from the German Luftwaffe.
Over the next year England lost over 45,000 civilians to bombs dropped in German air raids, more than 5,000 of those deaths were children. England could do nothing in the war against Germany accept endure and Churchill knew it. In one of his most famous speeches from this time he said,
“We shall not flag or fail. We shall go on to the end. We shall fight in France, we shall fight on the seas and oceans, we shall fight with growing confidence and growing strength in the air. We shall defend our island, whatever the cost may be. We shall fight on the beaches, we shall fight on the landing-grounds, we shall fight in the fields and in the streets, we shall fight in the hills. We shall never surrender!”
Sometimes the greatest way to resist even the evilest enemy is by simply refusing to surrender. We are in a spiritual battle for our soul, but we are not defenseless. Through the armor of God, we can defend against the attack of our enemy even if all we can do is endure. God sees our situation and will not abandon us in our fight. He says, “The enemy – BLOCKED!”
Training to be a successful student athlete is challenging, but the effort is worth it, especially when we see it as practice for the real spiritual battle of our life. And West, our mascot, is not just getting the crowd excited for the game, he also represents the advantages of keeping our faith in the fight. Put on the full armor of God, you’re going to need it to endure through to victory in whatever war you might be waging!
Westminster Christian School, located in Palmetto Bay, Florida, is a private, college-preparatory school for children from preschool through twelfth grade.