Gatekeepers
Isaiah 28:6
… and a spirit of justice to him who sits in judgment, and strength to those who turn back the battle at the gate.
Paul describes the Christian life as a spiritual war in Ephesians 6 and I encourage you to pause right now, open your Bible to verses 10-20, and let the words grip you afresh. As a brief summary, Paul challenges us to put on “the whole armor of God,” reminding us that our war is not against “flesh and blood,” but against demonic “authorities” and “cosmic powers of darkness” and “evil forces.” That’s why I love Isaiah’s picture here of stopping the battle at the gate. Effectively, we’re truth’s preservers—Heaven’s ambassadors—virtue’s defenders. And we can’t wait for all the walls to fall down before we stand to fight. It’s too late then. No, like good watchmen, we scour the hills, search for enemy movement, listen for galloping hooves in the night, and defend what’s worth defending. We stand in the breech between Heaven and hell, fighting not just for our own souls but for the soul of our society.
So Christian, wake up to the cultural, ideological, sociopolitical, spiritual war happening all around you right now, and, in the spirit of justice, take your God-ordained stand at the gate.