“When the unclean spirit has gone out of a person, it passes through waterless places seeking rest, but finds none. Then it says, ‘I will return to my house from which I came.’ And when it comes, it finds the house empty, swept, and put in order. Then it goes and brings with it seven other spirits more evil than itself, and they enter and dwell there, and the last state of that person is worse than the first. So also will it be with this evil generation.” Matthew 12:43-45
At first glance, Doctor Strange may seem to have a simplistic and tired plot. Many even described it as Ironman with magic. Egotistical genius is humbled through circumstances beyond his control, then is redeemed and finds new purpose in life. A strong moral message and enjoyable presentation despite its standard plot devices, which can be found in many stories that came before it.
But there was a line in the movie that made me think of a question that occasionally creates a stumbling block to growth in the Christian faith. There was an exchange between the Ancient One and Mordo in which Mordo briefly talks about why he came to the order. Mordo states “I wanted the power to defeat my enemies. You gave me the power to defeat my demons. And to live within the natural law”. The Ancient One surprisingly contradicts this assessment by saying “We never lose our demons, Mordo. We only learn to live above them”.
As Christians, we believe that Jesus has power over death and hell. We also believe the Bible when it says:
“Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation.The old has passed away; behold, the new has come.” (2 Corinthians 5:17)
And yet many of us as Christians still struggle with sin or the effect of past sins. We in essence have not “conquered our demons” in our everyday lives. This begs the question: if we truly are new creations, why do we often feel the old demons are still with us?
The truth is Christ defeated Satan by dying on the cross, but he did not eliminate or remove him from the earth. God gave us free will and the option to “rise above our demons” or to live among them. The demons remain until God casts them into hell forever.
Mordo believed his inner demons vanquished, so when they returned to him he was not ready to defend against them. We as Christians need to put on the full armor of God and acknowledge that Satan is real, demons are real, and we are at war everyday with them.
Jesus did not remove our demons by dying on the cross, He removed the authority they had over our lives. This is why Jesus told his disciples:
“If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me.” (Luke 9:23)
We would not have to pick up our cross “daily” if we had defeated all of our “demons”. Many individuals falter in life because they assume that believing in Jesus means they will no longer face temptation, disease, financial hardship, or emotional pain. God does not promise to remove situational struggles, but he does promise to equip us to fight and stand strong against the attacks of Satan.
The reality of our lives on earth is that Christ has begun a good work in us and promises that he will complete it. This means that in our broken world we will face trials of many kinds. But we now face our trials with hope. We endure our struggles with perseverance. We acknowledge our weakness so we can rely on God’s strength. And we face our demons with the authority of Jesus Christ.
God at the Boxoffice 