The Beloved:Victory through Fatih
Spoiler Alert: Harry Potter defeats Lord Voldemort.
If you haven’t read the books or seen the movies, I’m sorry to ruin the end for you. I grew up reading Harry Potter books and still enjoy them today. I appreciate the magical world J.K. Rowling created for us readers. Ultimately, I like these books because they tell a story of good versus evil in which light defeats darkness.
In the seventh and final book, Harry duels the world’s most evil wizard, Voldemort. I won’t go into the details, but the final battle is epic, messy, and costly. In the end, after Voldemort is permanently destroyed, Harry emerges from battle exhausted but victorious.
Even though the post-battle destruction surrounds him, Harry does not feel discouraged. The magical community slowly begins rebuilding their lives and beloved school Hogwarts. As a new era begins for him, his friends, and their world, Harry welcomes it with hope because good has triumphed over evil.
Let’s keep exploring the letters of John in the Bible. In previous inputs we learned about living in God’s light, putting our faith into action, and loving others. Today, I want to examine another aspect of living as a person beloved by God on this earth—
Victory.
When we walk with Jesus, we can live each day with an attitude of victory. Sin and the powers of darkness on this earth should not discourage or defeat us. John explains it like this:
“For every child of God defeats this evil world, and we achieve this victory through our faith. And who can win this battle against the world? Only those who believe that Jesus is the Son of God” (1 John 5:4-5).
According to John, when we trust in Jesus, we defeat evil on this earth. Woah! That is a pretty bold claim, don’t you think? How does this work?
Our victory in this spiritual battle doesn’t come from our physical human strength or positive thinking. Instead, we face troubles with a victorious attitude because we trust the true victor of the battle, Jesus.
Jesus defeated the darkness of sin when he died and rose again. Even though we still struggle with temptation and sin, we know where to go for forgiveness (1 John 1:9). We know if we belong to Jesus, then our sin does not condemn us (Romans 8:1).
Additionally, the big issues of evil like injustice and death, Jesus has already faced and defeated! While we still see and suffer from the effects of evil on this earth, the battle has already been won. And when Jesus returns one day the full effect of his victory will be experienced by everyone (read Revelation 20-22 if you are brave enough!).
Jesus is the only one who can legitimately say to us:
“I have told you all this so that you may have peace in me. Here on earth you will have many trials and sorrows. But take heart, because I have overcome the world” (John 16:33).
The story of Harry Potter and his world of magic is fun. But the story of Jesus, who defeated the evil of sin and death, is real and life-changing.
As Jesus’ beloved people we live each day in his victory.
Join us on 13 August at our next picnic as we remember Jesus' victory over sin and death by celebrating Community Church’s first baptism. For more info please see our connect page.