Battleground

Came across this quote yesterday.

"The idea that this world is a playground instead of a battleground has now been accepted in practice by the vast majority of Christians." – A.W. Tozer

I have been doing a lot of thinking and reading recently on the mission of God and our mission as Christians within God's grander mission.  One of my passions since God captured my heart in the 9th grade has been seeing us American Christians get out of our comfort zones.  I tend to think that for many of us living in first world countries comfort is the greatest barrier to our hearts being fully captured by God's greatness and love.  We are surrounded by comforts, pleasures and distractions galore.  Why would we want anything else? 

In the parable of the sower, Jesus speaks of those who hear the word, yet the "cares of the world and the deceitfulness of riches choke the word, and it proves unfruitful" (Mt. 13:22).  This world is not merely a playground.  There is a battle going on.  We are given a limited amount of time in this life and it is not for the purpose of just "having a good time."  There's nothing wrong with having a good time, but when it becomes the focus of our life, we are blind to the war that is raging around us. 

God is on a mission to rescue people from sin, darkness and death and bring them into his love and life.  God's glory is the purpose of this world and our lives and when we realize that, we find our greatest joy.  But as long as we find the comforts and pleasures of this world to be more exciting and glorious than Him, we waste our lives and miss our greatest joy.