Sheathing the Sword
“Repent; or else I will come unto thee quickly, and will fight against them with the sword of my mouth.” -Revelation 2:16
In high school and even long after, I was a ridiculously sold out fan of Robert Jordan’s Wheel of Time saga. I would not say this is something I recommend to Christian readers as it is not glorifying to God, but I must mention it because I am going to use part of it for an illustration. He had a part in one of his books that I have been thinking about a lot for the last few weeks and I have to thank my Pastor Dave for reminding me of it. He (my pastor) was teaching about the church at Pergamum and about how Jesus warned them that he would fight against the Nicolaitans with the sword of his mouth (Revelation 2:16). The topic of discussion was centered on how the church needs to be people of the word. I could not agree more…
I must admit though that my thoughts during his sermon kept drifting back to this idea of Jesus fighting against the Nicolaitans with the sword of his mouth, and the memory of Robert Jordan’s book came to mind with a powerful illustration as it concerns the working of the word of God in the life of His saints. The main Character Rand was being educated in the use of a sword and his trainer, Lan, was instructing him for months about all the sword forms he knew and understood. Rand had become a far quicker study than Lan had expected so he was having to show him more and more battle configurations. During the course of Rand’s education Lan had told him of a form called “Sheathing the Sword.” The author never explains to the readers what exactly this was even though he had explained the form of the rest of the moves. This was somewhat disconcerting but as the reader you quickly forget it. At the end of one of the books however Rand is in a sword fight with an adversary who is in every way, his equal. Parry after parry and blow for blow, the hero Rand was not able to gain any ground. After a period of heated and protracted battle Rand does the only thing that could possibly help him to win…he sheathes the sword. The reader finally gets to see what this means. Rand turns his back to his opponent and plunges his sword into his own stomach, which then protrudes out his back and punctures the chest of his enemy.
What a morbid picture, what in the world does this have to do with anything? It has everything to do with all of sharing Christ with a dead world and even to those who are alive in Christ. Isaiah 66:2 is becoming one of the most powerful instructors to me of this concept, “But this is the one to whom I will look: he who is humble and contrite in spirit and trembles at my word.” There is a vast difference between grabbing a sword in hand and attacking anything that moves, verses looking to see what that sword can do to us. There is a type of swordsman that handles his blade only to prove that he can handle it, but there is another type of swordsman who uses his blade altogether differently…he pierces himself through and through with it. He uses it with a terrifying sense of what it is capable of, and what can happen if it is not handled with the respect it deserves. You see, Rand had a much bigger picture in mind, he knew that the weight of the entire world was on his shoulders, and in a similar fashion, as Christians, we must take seriously what we believe. I hope that I can honestly say I am more responsible for truth and how that sword pierces others because I have let it spill my filthy guts all over the place so Christ can replace them with bowels of mercy, and a heart that weeps rather than rages.
You see, if Jesus has brought his sword to bear against me, as a member of his body, and I deflect it with the shield of pride, the sword of truth that I hold in my hand will become flimsy and pointless. My speaking with the sword will not pierce anyone with the truth and I will only make God’s word into an aimless bludgeon. See this is why Jesus tells those at Pergamum to repent lest he come to them quickly to fight against his foes. There is no Christian to whom this concept does not apply, as our every word, and every action is a representation of Christ in this world…
