King of Kings & Lord of Lords
As a kid, I was captivated by He-Man and the Masters of the Universe. I collected the toys, watched the shows, fought imaginary battles in which the fate of the entire universe hung in the balance. These figures were on my annual Christmas list (circled in the catalogues), birthday lists, and I can even recall paying for some using lay away (I’m sure a few of you can recall this)! There was something fantastically magical about He-man that drew me in and held my attention. Imagine, a cosmic battle of good v. evil, in which an ordinary man is transformed by the ancient Power of Grayskull, and he teams up with other Masters of the Universe to vanquish evil once and for all from the planet Eternia! What else did a young boy need?
Not long ago, a friend of mine helped me sell all of my remaining vintage figures and accessories. My kids had the chance to play with them and they had been taking up space in the garage for years. Coincidentally, around the time I was selling them I learned that two new shows and three lines of figures were being produced. It appears that a whole new generation of kids will be drawn into the battle. Coincidentally, I always seem to have fan pages show up in my Facebook feeds, even though I haven’t followed them. Truth be told, I will frequently check out the figures (Tab recently said it was cute that I was looking at He-Man toys on Facebook – ha)! It seems I am still drawn to the battle as well.
In his book, Wild at Heart, John Eldredge states, “Deep in his heart, every man longs for a battle to fight, an adventure to live, and a beauty to rescue”. Perhaps this is why I was so drawn to He-Man. Could it be that deep inside, I was made for a battle to fight? An adventure to live? All of the imagination, fantasy about a cosmic battle between competing forces of good and evil, was truly preparing me for, and orienting me to a greater spiritual truth. The reality is, there is a cosmic battle of good v. evil being waged as we speak. However, the stakes are much higher than we often realize, and eternity (not Eternia) hangs in the balance. Fortunately, we have a true hero to follow, and his name is Jesus. Listen to how Jesus is described in Colossians 1: 15 The Son is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. 16 For in him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things have been created through him and for him. 17 He is before all things, and in him all things hold together. Jesus is Savior and Lord, and He is our greatest adventure. If you are not following Jesus, I invite you to join me – He will change everything.
Too often, we settle for the mundane in our daily lives, rather than engaging in our cosmic calling. Our affections should not belong to this world, for our time here is limited and our loyalty belongs elsewhere. “15 Do not love the world or anything in the world…17 The world and its desires pass away, but whoever does the will of God lives forever”(1 John 2). We have a battle to fight, and our true citizenship is in heaven, so we need not set our mind on earthly things. “20 But our citizenship is in heaven. And we eagerly await a Savior from there, the Lord Jesus Christ, 21 who, by the power that enables him to bring everything under his control, will transform our lowly bodies so that they will be like his glorious body“(Philippians 3).
I invite you to join me on an alien journey. Together, we can resist the distractions of the world, and take our place in the battle. By the power of…Jesus, we have the power!
In Him,
Andy
An Alien Journey 