No Rival

Let's play a game! It's an "opposites" game. Should be easy, right? We learned opposites almost before we could learn to read. I say, High? You say, "Low." Got it? Okay, let's begin.

Stop? That's right, "Go."

On? Yep, "Off."

Light? Right again! "Dark."

Right? "Wrong." Wrong! I mean, "Wrong" is correct, of course!

Next one. Satan? Did I hear you say, "God"? 

Welp, sorry, that's not it. Nope, not "Jesus" either. In fact, when it comes to Satan, a created being, a fallen angel, there might just be more than one opposite. It might be you, for instance: he's running around trying to steal God's glory, but you're living a life that bring God glory. An angel might rival Satan: angels are known to go around spreading good tidings of great joy, while Satan thrives on chaos, fear, worry, and spreading bad news. Really, whatever the opposite is, it is certainly not God. God has no rival, no equal, no opposite; there is no one and no thing on par with God and, therefore. no one and no thing that can be contrasted with God. 

So, why the game? Why the speech? For a long time, I would have answered "God" if someone had asked me the opposite of Satan. Good-Bad. Right-Wrong. God-Satan. It was sort of the way I was conditioned, but there are so many dissimilarities between God and Satan, it doesn't even make sense to me anymore. Satan is a created being; God is not. Satan answers to God; God answers to no one. Satan is not omnipotent, omnipresent, or omniscient; God is all those things. Satan possesses only the power and authority granted to him; God is sovereign. And though it doesn't make sense (as I sit here in the quiet of my climate-controlled environment) I still find myself thinking in such a way as to give the devil far more credit than he is due. I still get that sick feeling in my stomach when I read another school has fired a teacher for mentioning God in the classroom. I still feel anxiety rising when I hear laws are being passed to accommodate abortions. When will it stop? something within me moans. Oh, things are just getting so much worse. But isn't this the world we are warned will come? Isn't this part of the plan for God's glory? Hasn't the Lord already promised He has overcome all this? Why give Satan so much credit? God is on His throne. Satan is not being permitted to do anything God has not allowed as part of His ultimate victory. If you belong to Jesus Christ, whatever you are going through --financial difficulty, eviction, homelessness, joblessness, false accusations, a terminally sick child, abandonment, whatever --you have two options:

• Know God will deliver you from it before you leave this earth, OR
• He will deliver you from it when you leave this earth.

Either way, God is allowing it for your good and for His glory. Satan is not running amuck. Satan has not been able to sneak in the backdoor with this. Satan hasn't gotten one over on God. God hasn't suddenly checked out, gone on vacation, turned a blind eye, thrown up His hands and said, Oh, this is just too much for Me! He is still God. With absolutely no equal. With no one to whom He is accountable. Perfect in character and power, "merciful and compassionate, slow to anger, rich in grace and truth; showing grace to the thousandth generation, forgiving offenses, crimes and sins; yet not exonerating the guilty, but causing the negative effects of the parents’ offenses to be experienced by their children and grandchildren, and even by the third and fourth generations." (Exodus 34:6, 7 CJB) 

Disciples have got to think rightly about who God says He is, and who Satan is not. We have got to fix our eyes on the One who holds all things in His hands. We have got to trust in the character and authority of the One who has victory over death and calls us to be servants and heirs in His kingdom; the One who promises all things are for our good and for His glory; the One who has none to compare, none to contrast, the One who has no rival!