How do you make the perfect soldier was the question... She sat alone in her dark dingy cell. Her fingernails were chipped and broken from scratching the walls. She was barefoot and her face covered in dirt. Her dress was filthy and tattered. Tall stony walls surrounded her far too high to climb. A giant locked steel door was the only way out and there was no way she had the strength to break it. She was trapped. Alone. Hurting. A prison that she didn't choose but had no escape from. A lone tear began in her right eye and travelled down her cheek leaving a clean section of skin. As the tear slowly made its way down her lifeless face she mouthed the words... "Jesus... please... help me...." It sounded like distant thunder at first but somehow it was different. I was led outside the giant tower where the girl was imprisoned and I saw an angelic army standing in formation. These were not your fat cherubs that so many have incorrectly described before. These were fearsome beings of war outfitted in divine armour and with weapons not forged on this earth.
They were creations of immense power far beyond our comprehension and there were hundreds of them. What I saw next though was far more remarkable. I saw towards the rear of the ranks the army begin to split to make room for a lone runner. He wore brown. A man. He had a beard. He looked normal in every respect yet at the same time there was something about Him that seemed so abnormal to my perception. Everything about Him was strangely perfect. The way He moved was with such deliberation and purpose. When He ran it was as if the very ground itself urged Him on and aided Him. He looked to me like what I would have imagined Adam from the Garden of Eden to look like if he were here today. Was this Him? As the ranks split to give Him room He increased His pace to a sprint at which lightning flashed above and the mountains quaked as if to cheer Him on. I saw Him nearing the giant stronghold and its two large iron outer doors. I imagined what He would do when He reached the doors. I was sure He would charge them and bust them into oblivion showering shards of shrapnel in every direction. But that's not what happened at all... Something far, far greater happened.
As He neared the doors my eyes were fully opened for just a moment. For only a tiny fragment of time I was able to see who He really was. The world around me faded to black and white and all sound hushed as His true identity was revealed. His eyes were a blaze of fire and left a trail of embers in the air as He moved. His hair was brilliant white - whiter than any light source I'd ever seen. In His hand was a scepter and He wore a long flowing robe of which the lower sections appeared to be stained by blood. On His thigh was words written in an ancient language that read "King over all Kings. Lord over all Lords". The same words lined the lower section of His robe. It was Him. The One. He effortlessly passed right through the outer doors as if they didn't exist and proceeded deeper inward with unmatched passion and fury in each step. Nothing held Him back. Nothing slowed Him. At last He reached the final door of her cell and He stopped. He stood there for a moment then softly knocked three times. She knew who it was. Her words "Please come in and help me..." changed everything. I heard the lock break and He slowly and gently opened the door and walked in then knelt down to where she sat in the cold dirt.
He put His hand under her chin and raised her head and said "Do not fear. I AM here. I will make you strong". I expected Him to get her out of there immediately but He didn't. He helped her to her feet, wiped her tears from her eyes and then told her to extend her arms. She willingly obeyed and I saw Him begin to outfit her with armour. First her arms, then her legs, her upper body and then a helmet. Lastly He gave her a small sword that suited her perfectly. I watched as He began to teach her how to fight right there in the cell. Blocking, dodging, parry, strike. In a matter of just minutes her form was almost perfect. He really was the Master teacher. Then He looked at her and said "Child, let's take this place down..." as He extended His hand for her to hold. She took His hand and smiled at Him as they started their path from the inner cells towards the outer walls. This time He wasn't using any doors. He choose a new way that caused maximum damage to the structure on their way out. Each stone wall they came across shattered and crumbled exploding outwards and leaving a wake of perfect destruction behind them. Wall after wall tumbled to the ground until at last she was outside. Freedom at last.
I saw Him talking to her about something but couldn't hear the words. She clenched the sword in her hand then smiled and nodded. Then He began His path running back through the ranks again. The scene faded as time marched on several years... This time I saw the same girl standing on a hilltop. She was older now. Wiser and stronger too. Her armour seemed to fit her better now. But out of everything I noticed about her the thing that stood out a mile was her eyes. They looked just like His. I could see in them an inferno of passion for the freedom of others. Her hand tightened on her sword and she raised it above her head and let out a battle cry like the shriek of an eagle. It was only then I could see the army standing behind her. They were men and women. Boys and girls. Dressed in armour, with swords and all with the same eyes as hers. They were soldiers just like her. Prisoners set free now fighting for the freedom of others. They answered her cry with theirs and the sound was utterly deafening so much that the earth itself quaked and shook in applause.
Then moving as one in perfect unity they began their decent down the hillside towards hundreds more towers that littered the horizon each with prisoners inside... The question He asked me before He showed me all this was "How do you make the perfect soldier?" My answer now was "You find a prisoner of war. You bust them out of their cage. You show them value and kindness. You feed them truth and teach them how to fight for others. You give them purpose by enlisting them in the Kingdom of Heaven. Then you tell them there are others out there like you..."
[ 2 Corinthians 10:4 - The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world. On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish strongholds. ]
They were creations of immense power far beyond our comprehension and there were hundreds of them. What I saw next though was far more remarkable. I saw towards the rear of the ranks the army begin to split to make room for a lone runner. He wore brown. A man. He had a beard. He looked normal in every respect yet at the same time there was something about Him that seemed so abnormal to my perception. Everything about Him was strangely perfect. The way He moved was with such deliberation and purpose. When He ran it was as if the very ground itself urged Him on and aided Him. He looked to me like what I would have imagined Adam from the Garden of Eden to look like if he were here today. Was this Him? As the ranks split to give Him room He increased His pace to a sprint at which lightning flashed above and the mountains quaked as if to cheer Him on. I saw Him nearing the giant stronghold and its two large iron outer doors. I imagined what He would do when He reached the doors. I was sure He would charge them and bust them into oblivion showering shards of shrapnel in every direction. But that's not what happened at all... Something far, far greater happened.
As He neared the doors my eyes were fully opened for just a moment. For only a tiny fragment of time I was able to see who He really was. The world around me faded to black and white and all sound hushed as His true identity was revealed. His eyes were a blaze of fire and left a trail of embers in the air as He moved. His hair was brilliant white - whiter than any light source I'd ever seen. In His hand was a scepter and He wore a long flowing robe of which the lower sections appeared to be stained by blood. On His thigh was words written in an ancient language that read "King over all Kings. Lord over all Lords". The same words lined the lower section of His robe. It was Him. The One. He effortlessly passed right through the outer doors as if they didn't exist and proceeded deeper inward with unmatched passion and fury in each step. Nothing held Him back. Nothing slowed Him. At last He reached the final door of her cell and He stopped. He stood there for a moment then softly knocked three times. She knew who it was. Her words "Please come in and help me..." changed everything. I heard the lock break and He slowly and gently opened the door and walked in then knelt down to where she sat in the cold dirt.
He put His hand under her chin and raised her head and said "Do not fear. I AM here. I will make you strong". I expected Him to get her out of there immediately but He didn't. He helped her to her feet, wiped her tears from her eyes and then told her to extend her arms. She willingly obeyed and I saw Him begin to outfit her with armour. First her arms, then her legs, her upper body and then a helmet. Lastly He gave her a small sword that suited her perfectly. I watched as He began to teach her how to fight right there in the cell. Blocking, dodging, parry, strike. In a matter of just minutes her form was almost perfect. He really was the Master teacher. Then He looked at her and said "Child, let's take this place down..." as He extended His hand for her to hold. She took His hand and smiled at Him as they started their path from the inner cells towards the outer walls. This time He wasn't using any doors. He choose a new way that caused maximum damage to the structure on their way out. Each stone wall they came across shattered and crumbled exploding outwards and leaving a wake of perfect destruction behind them. Wall after wall tumbled to the ground until at last she was outside. Freedom at last.
I saw Him talking to her about something but couldn't hear the words. She clenched the sword in her hand then smiled and nodded. Then He began His path running back through the ranks again. The scene faded as time marched on several years... This time I saw the same girl standing on a hilltop. She was older now. Wiser and stronger too. Her armour seemed to fit her better now. But out of everything I noticed about her the thing that stood out a mile was her eyes. They looked just like His. I could see in them an inferno of passion for the freedom of others. Her hand tightened on her sword and she raised it above her head and let out a battle cry like the shriek of an eagle. It was only then I could see the army standing behind her. They were men and women. Boys and girls. Dressed in armour, with swords and all with the same eyes as hers. They were soldiers just like her. Prisoners set free now fighting for the freedom of others. They answered her cry with theirs and the sound was utterly deafening so much that the earth itself quaked and shook in applause.
Then moving as one in perfect unity they began their decent down the hillside towards hundreds more towers that littered the horizon each with prisoners inside... The question He asked me before He showed me all this was "How do you make the perfect soldier?" My answer now was "You find a prisoner of war. You bust them out of their cage. You show them value and kindness. You feed them truth and teach them how to fight for others. You give them purpose by enlisting them in the Kingdom of Heaven. Then you tell them there are others out there like you..."
[ 2 Corinthians 10:4 - The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world. On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish strongholds. ]
