An Enduring Malice

It would be a mistake to believe that the only thing God uses to shape men and women into His image is their wise efforts integrated with His invincible grace. How we arrange our lives around Jesus, how we train, how we carry our cross matters tremendously, yet it is not the only way learn to love like God loves. He uses every means necessary to shape us, even the spiritual barrages of a proud and envious angel. As we journey with Jesus a new kind of warfare surfaces in our lives. One that we had the pleasure of ignoring before our entrance into this higher kind of life. This confrontation is born out of an enduring malice, one that’s persisted and pervaded over the great stretches of time—and even beyond it. When we begin the crucified life (mortification) we send out a signal somewhere in the Universe. The devil goes to battle with those in obedience.