There you stand. Sword in hand. The room is silent now. A calmness has settled over your surroundings. You think back to moments ago when things weren’t so silent. You remember the bone rattling roar of the mighty beast lying before you. The white hot fire that rang out from its mouth will be etched into your thoughts for eternity. A battle was waged, and was won in this very room. This fight would surely be talked about for generations to come. Years of preparation and journeying has led up to these moments. You had left everything behind in pursuit of this. You are wounded, but you knew you would be. You understand that the scars received would probably last a lifetime. But the prize, to you, is more important; more valuable than all silver or gold; worth the risk of any injury or even death. Your eyes shift from the slain dragon to the cobblestone staircase towards the back of this recent battleground. This is it. It’s time to claim the prize.
You had heard about her elegance and her charm. You had never seen her, but others had said that her beauty was matched only by the angels above. She sounded almost too good to be true. As you wind your way up what seems like a never ending staircase, you feel a fear rising up. It’s not the same kind of fear that welled up as you stood in front of the monster before. This kind is different. You hope that she likes you. That she thinks you are worthy of her courtship. You pray that all the striving, all the sleepless nights, all the blood spilled would be worth what’s coming. All of these thoughts are pushed aside as you reach the doorway.
Heart beating out of chest. Thoughts scrambled. Your breath is labored and short, partly from the long climb, but mostly from the mounting anxiety that is filling every corner of your mind. You slide the helmet off of your head, and set it on the floor next to your feet. You do your best to fix your hair, but know that, at this point, there is little hope for that thanks to your recently removed headwear. You compose yourself, take a deep breath, and push through the doorway.
You take little time walking across this room to the princess’s bed on the far end. You care little about what the room looks like, or how it’s decorated. You have waited your entire life for this very moment. There is a thick curtain standing between you and your destiny. It’s hiding the prize that awaits you. All that is needed is a swift pull, and the journey will be marked complete. You raise your arm, grab the curtain, and cast it aside. What you find takes your breath away. The princess isn’t there. She never was.
There is one thing that I always associate with a knight. A knight has a mission. We’ve all heard this story. Prince Charming sets out to slay the dragon and to rescue the princess. It’s what a knight does. But what if there was no princess. It’s seems silly to think that we would go through all the trouble to complete a mission with no prize at the end, but that’s what so many of us do. That’s what I’ve done so many times in my life. I give all of my time, effort, and money into “missions” without valuable “prizes.” I’m an aimless knight chasing after fools gold. I’m fighting a faithless fight that ends in dissatisfaction. A knight without a mission is no knight at all.
What if I told you that we aren’t even the knight. At least not at first. We are the damsel in distress. We are locked high in a tower. There is no escaping this place on our own, and it’s going take more than true love’s kiss to wake us up. It’s going to take blood. A perfect sacrifice. We are DEAD in this castle. Lurking below the tower is a ferocious dragon. He prowls and never sleeps. The worst part is that we put ourselves in this position. We are to blame for this situation. In this story there is also a hero. He slew the dragon and set us free from our captivity. Resurrected us from the dead. It was his blood that was spilt. His sacrifice has allowed us to live. The crazy thing is that he doesn’t stop there.
This hero (I hope you’ve figured out that the hero is Jesus) has given us a mission. One with an eternal prize. A mission worth striving for. I want you to think about what your thoughts are consumed by. What do you spend your days thinking about? What things in this life are you striving for? I believe that we allow idols, and finite distractions to creep into our thoughts and everyday life. We may not even realize it until we reach the end and find an empty bed where there should’ve been a princess. If you’re lucky, this fools gold mission you’ve embarked on wasn’t too long or too costly. The sad reality is that some people spend their entire lives chasing down these fake princesses. Where’s your treasure?
“For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.”
-Matthew 6:21-
As a body we have to start bringing our full attention to the only thing that deserves it. That is glorifying the name of Jesus Christ and making his name known to every tribe, tongue, and nation on this earth. He has blessed us with a mission. He has given us the privilege to join him on it. Why do we spend our time slaying dragons in castles with no princess? Do we believe that everything on this earth pales in comparison to the love the Christ offers us? It’s time we start acting like that’s the truth. Let’s fight a battle that matters. Run a race that’s worth the effort.
“Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one receives the prize? So run that you may obtain it. Every athlete exercises self-control in all things. They do it to receive a perishable wreath, but we an imperishable. So I do not run aimlessly; I do not box as one beating the air. But I discipline my body and keep it under control, lest after preaching to others I myself should be disqualified.”
-1 Corinthians 9:24-27-
Practically: Who are you in this story? Are you the damsel in need of a savior? Are you an aimless knight seeking after fools gold? Whoever you are, the amazing news is that Jesus is there with you, he’s willing to help, and he promises to never forsake you. Ask him to reveal the things in your life that have become idols. Be bold and ask him to clear them out by any means necessary. Go to God’s word to find your mission for this life, and to find the prize that is a relationship with Jesus Christ for eternity.
If you want the song that gave me the inspiration behind this story, go check out “Aimless Knight” by Kings Kaleidoscope! And while you’re there you might as well listen to the whole album because it will blow your mind. Love you guys!
