As I work through the “Warrior’s Journal”, I have realized that my total understanding of battle is from sports and Hollywood. So I have been watching Braveheart (for help) and realized just how much this movie parallels spiritual warfare.
I think the easiest part of this parallel is to see William Wallace as representing Christ. As I watch Wallace (I know it is a movie, and the actual history is a bit different) I realize how much I as a man want to be Braveheart. Mostly I am, at my best, Robert the 17th Bruce.
As I hold Wallace up as someone I want to emulate, I realize how far off I am- that I am better represented by the nobles. In the same way I look at Jesus and realize I actually identify (at best) with the wishy-washy disciples.
I am planning on putting up more ideas from Braveheart later, but I just realized who the real hero of the whole movie is. The true hero is William’s uncle, Argyle. (I looked up the definition for argyle and the best I could find was a branch of the campbell clan, a pattern (for the kilt?), or a style of sock- I wonder what came first?)
I think we often see a hero, but miss what shaped him. We as men want to be heros. I actually heard someone tell an athlete don’t try to be a hero (I think it was his mom), yeah right, what athlete doesn’t want to be the hero? We are just unwilling to make the sacrifice that being a hero requires. (and I don’t believe a mom would ever want her baby to make that kind of sacrifice)
Before Wallace became a hero, he had to see both of his parents die. He had to see his one true love die. He came from less than ideal beginnings.
It was when William was orphaned that Uncle Argyle stepped in. It is Argyle who taught William the skills required to be a hero. It was Argyle who brought his nephew on a pilgrimage, who raised him, who taught him what it meant to be a man.
So for the men reading this, most of us will never be William Wallace, but we can be Argyle to a potential William. As many men have stopped dreaming about being a hero because of bills and kids, realize you can be the person in someone’s life that enables them to become a revolutionary, someone who will fight for other’s freedom.
What would happen in the world around us if we reached out to one potential hero?
