Bang! You're Dead!

For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord. (Romans 8:38-39 ESV). Some of the memories I have of growing up in Galveston are of the neighborhood around 10th and Postoffice streets. We lived above a small grocery store not far from the medical center. Like most neighborhoods in the 1950’s, there were plenty of times when the children of the area got together and played. We had many games that occupied our time. Street baseball was one of our favorites. Home plate was a piece of cardboard on the street and the other bases were usually bumpers of cars parked on the side. Today we would frown on the danger of “playing in the street,” however in those days the danger level was very low. There weren’t that many people who drove through the neighborhood and those that did certainly watched for the children at play. Another game was a little dangerous, but still a favorite. We loved to play “war.” Some of us had homemade slingshots, others store-bought. All of us knew how to use them. It was not unusual to gather on a Saturday morning after our chores were done and meet near the “ammo dump.” That was a huge Chinaberry tree near a large vacant lot. We’d fill our pockets with the berries for the war. Some of us would hide, waiting to ambush the others who were on patrol. I remember one day in particular when I decided to climb a Mulberry tree to get a better view of where the "bad-guys" were hiding. Climbing higher and higher, I saw no sign of anyone until I was six to eight feet off the ground. It was from there I noticed one of the others quietly sneaking along, ready to shoot the first thing that moved. I allowed him to move in a little closer before taking aim and shooting; however, I was distracted by a noise from the other side of the tree. Turning to investigate, I found myself staring straight down the loaded slingshot of one of my other friends, Al Amato. Not only did Al get me, I had nowhere to run and Covy Wilkinson, who was sneaking along, saw me too. He got me as well. After emptying their pockets of ammo I had to surrender! I wasn’t hurt, at least physically, but the rules of the game declared me “dead.” As I recalled that time this morning, I began to think of another war we are engaged in. It is not a game, but it does have some similarities to the one I played as a child. Just like the make-believe bullets of childhood games, Satan's fiery darts cannot make you fall. His blistering trajectories usually whiz toward us in the form of stinging words, words like "I want a divorce" or "You have cancer," maybe even "You're fired!" All of which can be painful, and sometimes even enough to make you want to give up, but none have the power to make you fall. You only fall if you surrender. No matter what Satan throws at you, it will never be enough to make you fall. Remember, he can shoot all he wants, and even scream "Bang!" until he's blue in the face, but the truth remains: you will only fall if you surrender to his lies. The truth is: nothing can separate us from Christ!