My 6-year-old granddaughter wrote a story in the summer holidays which won a competition at Wigfield Farm (proud Grandma moment!) “The Smelly Adventures of Splat” tells the story of a rather malicious guinea pig named Splat who seeks to gain popularity by taking out the rabbits (whom he perceives as being more popular) with poo arrows.
It’s a typical children’s sotry full of toilet humour and graphic details (the poo arrows are orange, yellow and green because the guinea pig eats carrots, hay and lettuce…) which children find hugely amusing and which cause me to roll my eyes in despair. Splat gets his comeuppance when the meerkats tackle him and he ends up frozen as a statue, an ending which reminds us that kindness is better than notoriety or fame…
When Esther wrote this story, I felt a little despairing, since the constant ‘poo poo poo poo’ conversation of small children doesn’t really do much for me anymore. But I am reminded that Eugene Peterson speaks of God’s word being like a javelin, piercing our hearts with truth (see http://www.gpcchurch.co.uk/the-javelin-of-truth), and it struck me that ‘poo arrows’ are a pretty good description of the devil’s tactics.
The enemy of our souls targets us daily with arrows (‘flaming arrows’, Paul calls them in Ephesians 6:16), hoping to deflect us, distract us and deter us from wholehearted discipleship. Often, these feel like they are tipped with poo. Troubles and difficulties leave us feeling soiled, besmirched, defiled. Shame, guilt, fear and anxiety hem us in, leaving us helpless and discouraged.
God’s word is not like that. His word (described in Hebrews 4:12 as a double-edged sword), may well leave us wounded, but there is nothing dirty or defiling about it. It’s like a surgeon’s scalpel; it ‘hurts good.‘ It puts us back together; it restores our souls. There is healing and restoration, forgiveness and strengthening found in God’s word.
So don’t settle for the poo arrows of the devil! Instead, let God’s javelin word touch and transform you,
