the Week of Proper 28 / Ordinary 33
Click here to join the effort!
Daily Devotionals
Chip Shots from the Ruff of Life
Now that the Star Wars saga is complete, what have we learned? Star Wars was a compilation of stories of lives that are interwoven like threads into a marvelous fabric of a tale. There's the story of the aging Jedi Master, Yoda, whose ability as a Jedi knight in the power of The Force was legendary. There is his protégé, Ben Kenobi, whose desire is to be like his master and train the Jedi in the mastery of The Force. In the backdrop is the struggle of a people for freedom; the Rebel Alliance against The Empire.
But we all thought Star Wars was about Luke Skywalker. Fresh faced and enthusiastic Luke wanted to be a pilot like his father...and a Jedi. We watch him as he grows in his prowess and holds onto his goodness in the face of temptation. He becomes a heroic figure, honored and revered for his devotion to his friends and family and The Force. But Star Wars is not the saga of Luke Skywalker. It is about the growth and development of a young Jedi named Skywalker, but it's Anakin, not Luke.
Yes, Star Wars is all about the discovery of The Force resting so powerfully in young Ani that budding Jedi, Obi-Wan Kenobi is sure he can train him just as well as Yoda prepared him for using The Force for mankind. But he failed. Anakin fell to the temptation of the Dark Side of The Force and became The Empire's hammer of discipline for the Emperor. He became the evil Lord Darth Vader, feared in the universe. He was so evil that the knowledge of his children was kept from him. His loving son brought him back. In Darth Vader's own words he tells Luke at the end, "You have saved me." Ah yes, it's all about Anakin.
What do you get from the Bible? Do you see the Bible as the saga of a young shepherd who becomes a king and the lineage he begins which results in the birth of a Deliverer? King David's imprint is there. Or do you see the development of a nation from the faith of a man willing to leave his homeland and travel to a place God has promised will be his? Abraham and his people are throughout the Bible. Maybe you see the results of the Deliverer raised up from the slaughter of Hebrew children under the Pharaoh who ultimately became the Great Lawgiver. Surely Moses is a key figure in all of God's plans.
No, it's all about a Father and Son. It's about a loving God who created man and then prepared man for the coming of a much needed Deliverer in the form of His Son, who would be called Jesus, "Jehovah Saves." The thread begins in the Garden of Eden and is woven throughout the Word of God into a beautiful tapestry of love and salvation for an undeserving creation, Man. From the promise of God in Genesis 3:15 to the heartfelt call of John in Revelation 22:20, the story of the rise and fall of Man and his salvation through Jesus the Christ is the focus. Read this beautiful story of God and His love through Christ Jesus. Come to know God and His Son and be saved in the end.
'Chip Shots from the Ruff of Life' Copyright 2010 © Tom Kelley. 'Chip Shots from the Ruff of Life' articles may be reproduced in whole under the following provisions: 1) A proper credit must be given to the author at the end of each story, along with their complete bio and a link to https://www.studylight.org/ 2) 'Chip Shots from the Ruff of Life' content may not be arranged or "mirrored" as a competitive online service.
