Tricks We Can't Fall For

I was watching The Godfather the other day and one thing, oddly enough, stirred me to write a blog post with a Biblical message. You see, the main character played by Al Pacino is Michael Corrleone, head of the Corrleone family in New York. He, unlike his father Vito Corrleone, uses violence and bloodshed to get his way. What does Michael do when someone stands in his way; well instead of “making him an offer he can’t refuse” he gets rid of everything that poses competition to him. There is this great scene… well I can’ spoil the movie, it’s a great film go out and rent it some time. Anyway it made me think about Christmas and the gift that we get. One thing I’ve struggled with and worried about is if it is possible to lose this gift we are given. And that is where Michael Corrleone comes in, he reminded me of the devil and how he deceives us. It doesn’t matter if you are new to faith or have been a Christian for years, any step towards God by anybody is a serious threat to the devil. So what does “old Screwtape” (see C.S. Lewis’ The Screwtape letters) he gets us out of the way, he makes us think he is no big deal, then attacks us by saying we are not worthy, we are failures, God will not forgive us. But that is a big fat lie, he knows it, but we don’t always don’t. The devil is not a cartoon character with horns and a tale, he is like Michael Corrleone, he wants us out of the way because we stand in between the world and him. It’s never blatant or obvious, but if we can’t recognize it we will be tricked every time. I don’t mean to go off on one of those war metaphors, they do little good and only make the problem worse by causing some to say “Gosh, this is too much, it can’t be real.” What I mean to say is that we can’t fall for the tricks and doubts that say we are not loved, forgiven, or remembered. There is nothing we can do to make God love us less, although we are sometimes tricked into believing it.