Worldly Pokemon

Ephesians 6:12 “For our battle is not against flesh and blood…” This morning I listened in to Kyan’s online science class, where his teacher Mr Chan led students in categorizing various Pokemon into animal classifications. Beedrill for example is clearly an insect because it has 6 legs, wings and feelers. Machamp however is harder to categorize because it has six limbs, but also has two backbones and scales made of hair. One of the classmates stated that the Machamp lays eggs, so it would be fair to assume that it is a reptile or perhaps an insect. But Kyan rebutted that “this analysis doesn’t make sense. Every single Pokemon lays eggs so we can’t use reproductive systems as a way to differentiate. Sometimes we can’t use rules from the real world to understand fictional worlds.” How profound. You can’t apply the rules of one world to understand another world. As time passes I become more and more aware that the physical world is just a manifestation of a much deeper underlying spiritual world. I constantly find myself using the ways of this world to fix my problems, when scripture tells us that the battle is not against flesh and blood. Heading into a period of 5 weeks of quarantine, my natural reaction is one of dread and fear about a loss in productivity. The suicidal ten-year-old John Kim rears his head, rolling with fomo that I’ll fall behind the Joneses. I know God honors hard work, but the workaholic in me has often gotten in the way of my experiencing His love deeply. Lord, thank you for reminding me what is really important. Happiness comes from loving and being loved. If I get that right, then the circumstances sort themselves out. I align myself with the rules of your kingdom today. In Jesus’ name, Amen.