Clashing Powers

When Elijah and King Ahab face off on Mt. Carmel, we see once again a clashing of powers.  It is a recurring Biblical theme.  We see it with Moses and the Egyptian pharaoh.  We see it in the stories of Esther and Daniel.  But, it is not just an Old Testament story.  As we turn the pages of the Word into the New Testament, the clash of powers continue.  Herod sought to destroy Jesus causing Him to be taken by Joseph and Mary to Egypt.  Of course, His whole life speaks of a power confrontation with the powers that existed.  And finally, on Calvary there is the clash of power between God and the power of evil unleashed in the world. 

We do not normally read the Word through this particular window, but it is ever present.  While some may want to dismiss this aspect of the Biblical narrative in such a way as to view it solely as an expression of God's love and mercy, there is still that Word and others like which we find in Paul's letter to the church at Ephesus, "Put on the whole armor of God, so that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil.  For our struggle is not against enemies of blood and flesh, but against the rulers, against the authorities...against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places."  (Ephesians 4:11-12) 

There is an ever present clashing of the powers of God and the powers of evil in this world around us.  Minimizing it, or explaining it away through contemporary logic is a temptation for many, but it does not take away the reality of the struggle which is a part of the experience of every one who professes faith in Jesus Christ.  The way of Christ stands in opposition to the way of the evil one in our day as surely as it was on that dark day when the sun refuse to shine on Calvary.  It was the struggle of Christ.  It is our struggle.  Thanks be to God that Jesus came down from the cross the Victor.