The Other Side of the Coin

"But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh. For the desires of the flesh are against the Spirit, and the desires of the Spirit are against the flesh, for those are opposed to each other to keep you from doing the things you want to do."

Galatians 5:16-17

I want to tell you about one of the greatest literary villains of all time. Once a champion of good, but tormented and twisted into a thing of evil. Harvey "Two-Face" Dent. Raised by an abusive, alcoholic father, who would toss his lucky two-headed coin to determine whether to punish or spare his young son.  In spite of the background, Harvey grew up to be a fine upstanding young man, eventually becoming District Attorney of Gotham City, prosecuting evil criminals in the courts, working closely with both Batman and Commissioner Gordon. During the trial of a Mob Boss, acid was flung at him in the courtroom, burning the left side of his face, creating such torment that the evil nature his father had instilled in him finally found voice. From that point on, both evil and good struggled within him, often to the point that he would flip his father's coin (one side scratched off) to determine yes or no, right or wrong, life or death.

Pretty awesome for a comic book, right? But unlike Jekyll/Hyde (which inspired Bob Kane's creation) the torment was continual. Mr. Hyde would be there sometimes, Dr. Jekyll others. Two Face was both at all times. Both sides in continual battle for the soul.

It is the same with us. Evil and Good constantly at war within each of us. Each of us capable of saintly charity or satanic vice. And we must choose between them, but no coin can decide this outcome. The Spirit of God is always there, always waiting on our choice, but so often we don't choose Him. We fall. We fail. You would assume that would be our end. Yet over and over God's grace is greater than our sin. Relentlessly He continues to pursue us, fight for us, waiting to be our choice. It is a continual struggle. Daily, hourly, sometimes minute by minute, we must choose to follow Him. Yet even when we don't...

"I will never leave you or forsake you. Hebrews 13:5

"Neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our LORD." Romans 8:38-39

And one of the best...

"The steadfast love of the LORD never ceases, His mercies never come to an end, they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness." Lamentations 3:20-23

The struggle is real. Life or Death in the balance. Heads or Tails.

We have only to choose.

Love and Obsession

     I listen to a lot of audio books on my commute from and to work – I mean a lot! About 21/2 hours a day is spent going back and forth, and these books lead me to some semblance of sanity. Which is helpful since I have so little to begin with…sanity, that is.

     My current travel companion is by writer Patti Callahan, “Becoming Mrs. Lewis”. It is a novelized account of Joy Davidman and her friendship, then love, to writer C. S. Lewis. As I near the end of the book, and the cancer that takes her life, it is becoming bittersweet, in a “Love Story, Lifetime Movie” kind of way. Nevertheless, an excellent book I recommend.

     There is a scene in the book where she and Lewis are going over ideas for the book to become “When We Have Faces”, Lewis’ take on the Greek myth of Cupid and Psyche. At one point, discussing why it was tragic, Lewis said “When love becomes a god, it becomes a devil.” The idea being that any love to obsession turns from love to possession and corrupts the soul. Think of it this way. All that exists in this world God created and called “good”. It has never stopped being so. The overindulgence of those things taken or done in the wrong way leads to obsession and addiction. That love, given the highest place in our heart which should be God’s, has instead become a devil.

     The bible is full of references to this. 

“You cannot be a slave of two masters” (MT. 6:24) 

“If you love the world you cannot love the Father” (1 Jn. 2:15) 

“Where your treasure is, there will your heart be also” (Mt. 6:21) 

     and of course the BIG ONE 

“Thou shalt have no other gods before me” (Deut. 5:6). 

     The jist of it is, true love to God requires total sacrifice, but total sacrifice to anyone or anything other than God cannot co-exist with Him.

     Total sacrifice to anything other than God becomes a confinement. A slavish obsession to more and more rules and regulations trying to please, until we cannot move for fear of rebuke, or scorn, or worst, a withdrawal of love. So, are we to all be celibate, self-flagellating little monkeys in a cage, released only to show our failures and punished by a harsh task master? NOT IN THE LEAST!

     Total surrender to God becomes freedom and release from slavery. Rather than forced servitude, we have joyful obedience coming from God’s love rather than our failure. Since it comes from God’s love and is carried out by God’s strength, then we are free to give ourselves to others fully, because we are NEVER without His Love. “I will never leave you or forsake you.” (Heb. 13:5) It’s the ultimate covering of protection. We cannot run so far, fall so deep, or hide so well, that God does not always see us. And always love us.

     So guard your heart, my friends. Be guided by God’s love in you. Even in hurt and pain, which comes to all, you are loved. Remember, He also totally sacrificed for you. He is “all in”, just for you. Rest in His love, His freedom, His Joy.

     I think my next book will be “When We Have Faces”. Probably not an audio book, though. C.S. Lewis can be deep sometimes, and I’d probably crash trying to use a highlighter on the car stereo.