Jason’s Truth

“Upon this rock I will build My church; and the gates of Hades will not overpower it” -Yeshua (Jesus), Matthew 16:18b 

I admit, the implication of the above quote was lost on me for a long time. It’s a segment of a conversation between Jesus and his rambunctious disciple Peter. It’s sandwiched right between Peter’s victory moment of correctly identifying out loud that Jesus was the long-awaited Messiah (vs.16), only to lose sight of that in the next few moments and be rebuked with a stern “get behind me Satan!” (vs.23). These high drama moments would grab my attention, and if I did read the bridge between them, I would then be lost in trying to prove that the “rock” the church is built upon is not Peter himself, but his confession of the nature of Christ (vs. 17-18). With all this, I stumbled past the simple truth that would radically shift my faith walk and send me on a completely new path. 

You see, being raised a believer, I spent much of my life with an “us against them” mentality when it came to matters of faith. I had internalized the idea that Christians are under attack on all sides, so I should greatly fear being compromised, deceived, or defeated. Because of this, I would only feel safe amongst other completely like-minded believers, and I put high importance on not being tarnished by the world; seeking to avoid it at all and every cost. I went through phases of being terrified by secular music or television, demonic activity that could be found in party environments, or even playing Pokemon cards. 

Anything outside of a western Christian perspective was dangerous and potentially deadly, and anything popular must be the result of a deep-seated and demonic conspiracy. In all honesty, as an older teen maintaining this level of vigilance and fear within my faith became exhausting and deeply discouraging. It felt that God had abandoned us to a world of constant attack, and the penalty of a slight stumble or fall would be total annihilation. The power of Satan felt insurmountable and the path to redemption felt almost impossible. The mindset of keeping one’s head down and muscling through to the end of this life thing while keeping your fingers crossed that you would earn heaven became my MO. Little did I know that THIS was the deception; this whole concept was a trap that robbed me of life abundant. 

While pursuing a degree in theology, I began to actually read the teachings and stories in the Bible, and at the encouragement of some phenomenal teachers, I did so without the baggage of any particular perspective. Instead, I allowed the world and motivations of the writing to speak for itself. To my surprise, I did not see the terrifying world I had imagined when listening to various sermons over the years, but instead a gospel so sweet that it defied the mind. I saw a God so loving and passionate that the title of Father was not only fitting but natural and an astounding standard to inspire awe and to be revered. It was at this time that I re-encountered the above text and became floored by it’s simple and readily apparent meaning: When the Messiah depicts the nature of the church, the community of believers, they are not playing defense, but OFFENSE. Not against other people, but against the power of the enemy itself. 

Nobody carries a set of gates into battle to do war, but erects them outside a territory as protection. The imagery Jesus pulls from does not display the church as setting up gates of defense to hide behind for escape but showcases that hell itself is seeking protection from US. We are not saved through a test of endurance to be challenged by the world and reach some quota of righteousness by the end, but are birthed into a Kingdom that empowers us to storm the enemy camp on a mission of rescue. We are not the defeated, we are the conquerors. We don’t fear the darkness, for we are the light. The goal is to be immersed and spread amongst the world, not to run from it. To engage humanity and bring light to the fallen, to the hurting, to those trapped in darkness and death. Not with just a message, or recruitment to a side, but with LOVE. Spoken, yes, but also lived out through compassion and justice. The gates of darkness will not overpower us, so how can we fear? 

I put away my defensive weapons of judgment and fear. I picked up understanding, compassion, and empathy. I began to see others as people just like me. Who hurt, and were afraid, clinging to their own version of “us against them”. Now that I had tasted reconciliation and peace, I only sought to share it and set my fellow prisoners free. 

THIS is the church. This is what it is to believe. We have tasted, and seen. We now showcase and share in love. Hell doesn’t stand a chance.