The Warrior

Purpose: Each of us is to become a warrior – we are not alone and the chief warrior Jesus Christ has won the war. We join the fight and salt the world with the word. We are not alone. Be brave and faint not. Christ is seated on the throne, on the right side of God. We have been commanded to be His warrior here on earth through the power of His name because He shed His blood for us.

The Warrior piece is complex as it represents Jesus Christ, the individual, and His bride in warfare against the prevailing evil. Within this work, you see symbols that symbolize Christ, the whole armor of God for warfare, and a battle against evil.

The work depicts the story of grace and salvation through Jesus Christ, who is not only the sacrificial Lamb but also the great and Mighty Warrior who died for us by waging war on our curse through the cross. Isaiah 42: 6, 7 states, the Almighty God made Jesus  “…the covenant for the people and a light for the Gentiles. …to free the prisoners.” Isaiah 59: 17 [NIV] adds that “He put on righteousness as his breastplate, and the helmet of salvation on his head; He put on the garments of vengeance and wrapped himself in zeal as in a cloak.”

The bottom left section of the painting suggests the Star of David with a kneeling figure in prayer next to it. Do you see a larger head, within this grouping of the star, reflecting a crown on the head?  For me, it suggests the line of David and the future King Jesus. Below the praying man is the suggestion of a donkey which symbolizes the Christ, King Jesus, who rode in on a colt to emphasize love, humility, and peace; thereby, Jesus shows He denies no group because of social status or sin. How do you demonstrate Jesus’ love to different individuals regardless of their social status or sin?

Located within the upper left side, the head of a lion image can be viewed beneath the shield. It represents the lion of Judah and symbolizes Jesus’ authority and power at the right hand of God.

Behind the shield and the lion’s head, and the stretched cross, the marred face of Christ appears and expresses His torn flesh and misery mentioned in Isaiah 52 and 53. He is on the left side for He has not yet ascended to the Father to sit at His right hand. On the left side of the marred face and above and behind the shield, visible lines symbolize the stripes from the lashes Christ received before He takes our sins to the cross.

Clearly, Jesus, being foretold in Isaiah 53: 12 [NIV] “…poured out his life unto death, and was numbered with the transgressors. For he bore the sins of many and made intercession for the transgressors.”

The red background expresses the pouring out of His blood upon the cross: the sacrifice to atone for our sins. The dark red spots reflect the sweat drops of blood that fell while He prayed in the Garden of Gethsemane as He identified with the cup He would drink and endure for us. What does the color red symbolize for you? To me, it means I am saved because of God’s love and grace through the death of His Son, Jesus. Jesus’ blood on the cross that day took my sins and covered me with His righteousness.

Now by grace through Christ’s death on the cross for our sins, we can go to the throne of God in confidence, for God speaks about Christ Jesus in Hebrews 5: 6 “…You are a priest forever in the order of Melchizedek.” The image of the priest shines in gold, yellow, and white. It is found in the right bar of the cross beneath the symbolism of evil and delusion.

On the right upper section above the stretched bar of the cross, the symbols of Satan and deception faintly show so to express the danger of unawareness or lack of truth that one goes through in their daily routine. The symbols depict a hint of a counterfeit system and the response of an individual. What Biblical stories do you recall that God uses to warn us of this danger?

The eyeless face represents several levels of the imperfect condition or un-readiness within an individual to accept Jesus as Savior or to commit one’s life to service. Indifference, to the needs of both the brethren and the lost, makes us as in Isaiah 59: 10 “ … Like the blind we grope along the wall, feeling our way like people without eyes. At midday we stumble as if it were twilight; among the strong, we are like the dead.”

The blind or empty eye sockets see no urgency to reach out for the lost and take up the commission to make disciples for Jesus. Also, the eyeless face reflects the time of waiting when we do not know our direction or are unsure of it and those who have not yet accepted Jesus as their Savior. What do the empty eye sockets make you think about?

The empty sockets suggest the false teachings and little knowledge of the Word that cause us to stray and fail to see the truth and create a lack of sincere worship for in Isaiah 29: 13a “The Lord says: These people come near to me with their mouth and honor me with their lips, But their hearts are far from me.

Let us push forward in love through Him, therefore being dependent upon Him for sight so we do not become drifters with empty sockets.

Ephesians 6 identifies the armor of God available to those saved through Christ, and these pieces are depicted throughout the painting. The shield of faith appears in light white, yellows, and gold on the upper left side. The helmet of salvation appears next to the high priest symbol. The breastplate of righteousness sets within the figure’s body, while to its right the belt of truth emerges. Curving down from the belt, the shod foot of preparedness of the gospel of peace is anchored. In the remaining bottom right, spiritual warfare rages against the saints as they hold the sword, the Word of God, and lift prayers upward. Without this armor of God, we become like the eyeless face; therefore, in His armor, we stand strong against the wiles of the devil. How do you put on and wear this armor daily? Do you get up each morning and put on the full armor or just part of it? If you wore only part of the armor, how did your day progress? Have you noticed how your days progress in full armor versus partial or no armor against the wiles of the evil one?

Let us love everyone, proclaim the news of Jesus Christ, and bear the marks the world inflicts upon Christ’s warriors. Paul said in Galatians 6:17 “From now on let no one trouble me, for I bear in my body the marks of the Lord Jesus.” Therefore, put on the armor of God and become a warrior with Christ, King of Kings, who leads the way. The war is won and the victory is Jesus.