People that know me well know that I really like comic books. I know, I know -I am geek. I like them because they often have themes of self-sacrifice, endurance, and personal growth which relate well with our Christian walk. One of my favorite characters is Adam Warlock because he is constantly caught in difficult situations that seem far above his capability to overcome.
Adam often has to wrestle with his own struggles and come to grips with his personal weakness. When fighting against the his arch enemy the Magus, Adam is quite literally wrestles with himself.
What do I mean by that?
Well his nemesis the Magus is actually a evil counter part of himself from the future. I now it sounds pretty ridiculous but stick with me. The Magus is basically the dark and evil side of who Adam is. The Magus is what Adam himself could become if he were to go down the wrong path. So for Adam Warlock the saying “I am my own worst enemy” rings all the more true.
What I really like about Adam is that he has to duel against an evil counter part of himself and comes out as a more holistic person. It seems that before we can really become the whole beings that God intends us to be we must first own up to our greatest weaknesses, struggles, our inner “demons” if you will, and allow Christ’s working power to overcome them.
I have time and time again heard people say that the most difficult thing that they had to face on their mission field was themselves. On the mission field, right in the midst of all of the culture-shock, language barriers, team conflict, support issues and so on, we are easily blindsided by our own sins. Without realizing it our greatest fight becomes the fight against ourselves.
This fight is one that we all must face. Paul talks about this internal war against ourselves when he says, “When I want to do good, evil is with me... waging war against the law of my mind and taking me prisoner to the law of sin in the parts of my body.” All of Romans 7:13-25 is about this internal war. Really, the entire gospel is about this war, because when we come to Christ we become a whole new person. We put the old person to death so that Christ might truly live within us.
”You took off your former way of life, the old man that is corrupted by deceitful desires; you are being renewed in the spirit of your minds, you put on the new man, the one created according to God’s likeness in righteousness and purity of the truth.” -Ephesians 4:22-24
I hope and that you can overcome your personal struggles so that you can fully put on the likeness of Christ. This is my prayer so that you can become fully mature, whole, and complete, the "you" that God intends you to be. To undergo this process is the very story of the gospel being lived out. It is the story of Adam Warlock, it is Paul’s story, and it is our story as well.
Peace and Blessings,
Gary Ford II
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