"'In brightest day, in blackest night, no evil shall escape my sight! Let those who worship evil's might beware my power- Green Lantern's light!"- The Corps OathOne of the most well-known super heroes of the DC Comics universe is Green Lantern. Who is Green Lantern? Let me fill all of you non-nerds now.
The Green Lantern isn't one superhero. There's an entire Corps called (surprise, surprise) The Green Lantern Corps. Around the entire galaxy, the Guardians of the Universe select beings who display extreme will-power to be members of the Corps. The person receives a ring, takes the oath, and then becomes a Green Lantern. Using the ring, the Green Lantern channels their will power to make stuff with their mind.
So yeah. Anyway. Green Lantern. What's this got to do with anything?
A'ight. Well, in Ephesians 6:11-17, it says to put on the full armor of God. The fulls verse says:
"Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, stand. Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. In addition to all of this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the spirit, which is the word of God."
So, when we're saved by God, we've been given all the tools necessary to combat evil. However, we are not battling evil- God is. Here's what I mean:
In the Green Lantern story, the rings of power get their abilities to channel willpower from the Master Power Battery guarded by the spirit Ion. The weapons (the rings of power) were created by a force INFINITELY more powerful than the Green Lanterns. These weapons were then bestowed on the chosen warriors. The chosen warriors use this weapon to channel both their own will and the energy of the Master Power Battery.
It's kind of like the Bible, isn't it? I mean, God gave us His son for salvation and then gave us the Bible as well, which was also a weapon. God protects us and fights for us, but He also fights along side us. I might not be making my point well... Uh...
Anyway, in Green Lantern, the Lantern's are weak against the 'yellow impurity'. The yellow impurity (AKA Parallax) is known as the living embodiment of fear and doubt. The reason the Lantern's are weak to the color yellow is because if they allow fear/doubt to enter their 'constructs' (the things they make with their rings), they are vulnerable. I thought this was kind of like doubting God.
See, if we trust in God fully we are told we can move mountains. Says so in the Bible. Anyone with faith 'as small as a mustard seed' could move mountains.
The rings are basically the most powerful weapon in the DC Universe, stemming from possibly the ultimate power at the center. But when the Lantern's start forgetting about where their gifts- their rings- come from and believe that they are the source of their own power, they become susceptible to fear and doubt. And when fear and doubt enters the mind of a Lantern, they are officially vulnerable to the bad guys, who have figured out how to tap into the power of fear. They're called (surprise surprise) Yellow Lanterns.
Anyway, I'm thinking that doubt follows arrogance once we forget God is at the center. God was the source of the Apostle's miracles, and God is the source for our everyday strength. Without the gifts He has given us, we're nothing. At all. Seriously.
I guess in the end I'm making two points (albeit rather poorly):
1) God is the source of our 'power' (spiritual gifts, evangelizing) and is working through us. We aren't channeling God. God is using us!
2) Doubt and fear are natural, but they're pointless. They aren't a weakness, they are what create weaknesses.
See, this devo didn't have as much of a point now as it will, 'cause my next big devotions are gonna be based on the power of story. My primary examples are gonna be comic book characters, so I'll be using comics to make most of my points.
The Green Lantern isn't one superhero. There's an entire Corps called (surprise, surprise) The Green Lantern Corps. Around the entire galaxy, the Guardians of the Universe select beings who display extreme will-power to be members of the Corps. The person receives a ring, takes the oath, and then becomes a Green Lantern. Using the ring, the Green Lantern channels their will power to make stuff with their mind.
So yeah. Anyway. Green Lantern. What's this got to do with anything?
A'ight. Well, in Ephesians 6:11-17, it says to put on the full armor of God. The fulls verse says:
"Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, stand. Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. In addition to all of this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the spirit, which is the word of God."
So, when we're saved by God, we've been given all the tools necessary to combat evil. However, we are not battling evil- God is. Here's what I mean:
In the Green Lantern story, the rings of power get their abilities to channel willpower from the Master Power Battery guarded by the spirit Ion. The weapons (the rings of power) were created by a force INFINITELY more powerful than the Green Lanterns. These weapons were then bestowed on the chosen warriors. The chosen warriors use this weapon to channel both their own will and the energy of the Master Power Battery.
It's kind of like the Bible, isn't it? I mean, God gave us His son for salvation and then gave us the Bible as well, which was also a weapon. God protects us and fights for us, but He also fights along side us. I might not be making my point well... Uh...
Anyway, in Green Lantern, the Lantern's are weak against the 'yellow impurity'. The yellow impurity (AKA Parallax) is known as the living embodiment of fear and doubt. The reason the Lantern's are weak to the color yellow is because if they allow fear/doubt to enter their 'constructs' (the things they make with their rings), they are vulnerable. I thought this was kind of like doubting God.
See, if we trust in God fully we are told we can move mountains. Says so in the Bible. Anyone with faith 'as small as a mustard seed' could move mountains.
The rings are basically the most powerful weapon in the DC Universe, stemming from possibly the ultimate power at the center. But when the Lantern's start forgetting about where their gifts- their rings- come from and believe that they are the source of their own power, they become susceptible to fear and doubt. And when fear and doubt enters the mind of a Lantern, they are officially vulnerable to the bad guys, who have figured out how to tap into the power of fear. They're called (surprise surprise) Yellow Lanterns.
Anyway, I'm thinking that doubt follows arrogance once we forget God is at the center. God was the source of the Apostle's miracles, and God is the source for our everyday strength. Without the gifts He has given us, we're nothing. At all. Seriously.
I guess in the end I'm making two points (albeit rather poorly):
1) God is the source of our 'power' (spiritual gifts, evangelizing) and is working through us. We aren't channeling God. God is using us!
2) Doubt and fear are natural, but they're pointless. They aren't a weakness, they are what create weaknesses.
See, this devo didn't have as much of a point now as it will, 'cause my next big devotions are gonna be based on the power of story. My primary examples are gonna be comic book characters, so I'll be using comics to make most of my points.
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