Are we battling alone? Let’s plunge into the Deeper Waters and find out.
Last Saturday, I was at my men’s group and the leader started talking about finding our own ministry. What can we bring to the cause of Christ that is ours? What are our skills? Immediately, I thought of Final Fantasy IV.
I have played the Final Fantasy games for years. IV is as far as I’m concerned the best one of them all. The story is absolutely gripping and it has tremendous replay value to me. Today when I play Brave Exvius on my phone, I get super excited when I see something coming up from Final Fantasy IV.
So for now, put the men’s group meeting on hold and let’s go with another thought. In this one, my wife has a friend who was going through a hard time and she was wanting to know how to fight alongside him. Prayer is the best way in this case, but it occurred to me that the whole theme was once again fighting together.
Now in most Final Fantasy games, there is a whole party that travels together and so one very rarely fights alone, but I thought that in IV, there is an emphasis on fighting together. I really want to try to do this without spoilers. After all, if someone hasn’t played this awesome game, I want them to play it for themselves and be as amazed by it as I was and am. I honestly sometimes wish I could have a mindwipe of sorts so I could play through the story again and be surprised.
So where are some places where this theme shows up?
One is where the best friend of the main character gets hypnotized. In this, he kidnaps the love interest of the main character for the villain and she’s held hostage. When she’s rescued, he’s broken free of the mind control at that time. He has shame for what he’s done, but the girl has forgiveness and grace and asks that they all fight together, which does happen. When the final battle comes, the best friend is one of the people there.
It happens when one of the party members who vanishes for awhile shows up again out of nowhere and rejoins. Their plea is that they have learned the greater power of evil is at work. It must be confronted together. Once again, the concept of joining forces is there.
It happens even when one of the villains who is what we call an honorable villain, in that he wants the fight to be fair, and this isn’t a trick move. He even heals the party entirely immediately before the fight. After being beaten, he says he now sees that weak people can join forces and be strong.
It happens when at the end, two characters are asked to leave the party for their own safety. Indignant, they walk off the vessel only to show up when the party arrives. Each of them points out their unique contribution to the team and states that they have to fight for their common cause, to which the leader agrees.
I notice the same thing in Christian apologetics. It is a foolish person who thinks he can answer everything. Sometimes people send me questions about science as science, for example, and I always point them to someone else. Yes, people. Just because someone is an apologist doesn’t mean they have an exhaustive knowledge of everything and can answer anything.
Instead, I just join forces with others. I try to know a specialist in most every area that I can refer someone to. Likewise, when someone needs a specialty from me in some area I am skilled in, I am able to give it.
An atheist in a debate group yesterday posted about how his life is and said Christians seem to think they live in some Marvel type universe with events going on all around them. I actually agree with that. In the universe I live in, there is a battle going on between good and evil and I am happy to take my side in the battle. I am also thankful that I am not alone. I am with my friends.
We fight together.
In Christ,
Nick Peters