Engaging the Fight With Evil

“War broke out in heaven; Michael and his angels fought against the dragon. The dragon and his angels fought back, but they were defeated, and there was no longer any place for them in heaven. The great dragon was thrown down, that ancient serpent, who is called the Devil and Satan, the deceiver of the whole world-- he was thrown down to the earth, and his angels were thrown down with him.”
- Revelation 12:7-9

Recently, I was browsing around in a Christian bookstore, and the title of a book jumped off of the bookshelf and hit me right between the eyes. The book is called Fight: Are You Willing to Pick a Fight with Evil?, by Kenny Luck. I grabbed the book and began to devour it word for word.

As it became abundantly clear to me that I was called to be the rector of St. Michael’s Anglican Church, I began to reflect on our patron saint, St. Michael the Archangel. Michael is one of those characters in the Bible who is able to emphatically answer “yes” to the question posed by Kenny Luck’s book. He is an example to us of courage and perseverance.

The passage above from Revelation describes what is commonly known as the War in Heaven. Michael and his band of angels engage in a war against Satan and his minions, and Michael wins. The devil is then cast down to the earth and all evil is cast out of heaven for all eternity.

While the War in Heaven is St. John’s vision of a future event, it has implications for all of us in our daily lives. We are not in heaven fighting Satan directly, but we do fight battles against evil in our daily lives today. With Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior, we are called to engage the battle, and we are called to fight to win!

Engage the Battle! Can you imagine what would happen if St. Michael and his angels had chosen not to fight to the battle? They could have made every excuse or come up with every reason not to fight. If they had fallen away from the battle, Satan would not be defeated and sin and evil might reside in heaven for all eternity. Battles between good and evil – Satan and God – happen all the time in this world. We are called to engage the battle, and to do so with courage and conviction, knowing that we have the ultimate weapon against evil, Jesus. If we choose not to engage the battle with courage and perseverance, then we allow evil to take hold in the world around us. When we choose not to fight for Jesus Christ, it creates a vacuum, and that vacuum is filled with evil.

Win! When we are called to engage the battle, we should do so in order to win! If you look at most successful fighting forces around the world, they usually have two things, good solid training, and an effective command structure that helps them strategize and guides them into how they should fight. The same is true for an army of Christian soldiers. We have the ultimate training program, God’s Holy Word. We are called to read, mark, learn and inwardly digest the Bible as our training regimen, so that we can be effective in the fight against evil. An army that is not well trained will be overcome in battle. Likewise, if we as Christian disciples are not well trained, we will be overcome in the battle against evil. Our command structure is Jesus Christ Himself, and His Church, the Body of Christ. If we stay tuned to Him in prayer, and mutual discernment within the church, we will be very aware of where and how God is calling us to fight. We will be doing His will as we fight against evil, and he will give us the tools we need to win.

In closing, I encourage you to use St. Michael as an example of the courage and perseverance in the fight against evil in all the world. God is calling. Gird up your loins and join the battle. Jesus is counting on you for his army of disciples.