"Ah come here for asylum."
--Rogue
"Tell the others.
They have my word.
This is safe harbor."
--Prof. X.
Avengers vs. X-men has caused heroes to be beaten and siblings to turn against each other. Leaders have lost their way and followers have lost hope. Still, the worst part is, it's not over yet. As a last resort, Rogue along with other stray X-Men turn to the Avengers. The mutants realize that Cyclops has gone too far and he must be stopped. And they know that they cannot stop him alone. They need a group to keep them from losing their way and to help them overcome their over-powered enemy.
We know how these heroes feel. Right now, the Church is at war. We're at war with death, the Devil, and even against the sin in each other. Although, we know that we have already won, it is still easy to lose hope and lose our way. These things are way too powerful for us to fight alone. Where do we turn to?
In case you haven't noticed, I've been reading through Life Together. Bonhoeffer teaches a lot about both fellowship and solitude. He says that, "Many people seek fellowship because they are afraid to be alone." Is this where we are in our daily struggles? Are we alone? No, we are not alone, the Church is a fellowship. Together we are strong.
As Round 11 of Avengers vs. X-Men (pictured above) progresses, the reader witnesses how much more powerful the combined efforts of the Avengers and X-Men are than they ever could have been individually. They seem to actually have a chance. Both teams stand together, rookies ally with experts, mutants trust avengers, the bad-guy is going down.
But, something happens. Cyclops becomes even more powerful then ever before. No man stands a chance.
I bet you didn't see that coming.
No matter how strong you are alone or how mighty we become together, without Christ we are nothing. That's the whole point of Ecclesiastes: Without God there is no meaning. Hopefully, for the sake of the Marvel Universe, someone can stand against Cyclops' new power and save the world. But, for us, although we are a spiritual fellowship and a body of believers, without the blood of Christ Jesus holding us together and the Messiah becoming flesh to not only dwell in the world, but to save it, we are nothing. Because of Him and His Spirit working through us, we are something.
Now, our fellowship bears meaning. It's not because of who we are or what we do, but because we have been founded on/by Christ as the cornerstone. Even in solitude, God is our strength. In Him, we have become safe, clean, white as snow. We must continue to turn to Christ. Like Rogue, we search for help. God answers and He has already beaten our over-powered enemies.
Good Article. An interesting thought also came to mind while I was reading it. You wrote how the Christian is at war with the devil, sin, and the world. Also, we can be at war with other Christians as well. We refuse to have fellowship with others because they may have different beliefs, views, etc. In a sense, some Christians become like Cyclops, letting their own ideas and beliefs about the Bible to give them power and authority over others. We should be like Rogue and turn to Christ and to others who faithfully and truthfully proclaim His Word. In Christ, we have true unity and should gather around His teaching as it should be taught.
ReplyDeleteRight!! It's also important to focus on Christ instead of fighting over the little things. I wonder how many people have turned away from seeking help from the Church (like Rogue) because of the disharmony they saw among its members (A/X).
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