Happy November, friends, and welcome to another post! Today’s Gratitude Documented prompt is “seeing others through the lens of Christ,” which pointed my brain directly to the “remember who the real enemy is” quote from Catching Fire. Enjoy!
Katniss’ real enemy
I love the way that Katniss’ view of other people changes throughout the Hunger Games series. She starts as an individual who won’t allow herself to love anyone but Prim with her whole heart. Everyone else, even her mother, is a potential obstacle or enemy…
And then she allows herself to become allies with Rue, whom she knows probably won’t survive the Games. And Rue’s death pushes Katniss to openly defy the Capitol for the first time.
And then she realizes that Peeta and Haymitch are now her family, or at least her allies, and she would do anything to protect them. The same goes for Cinna and Gale, and now there are more people that Katniss cares about than even she realizes, more that she will defy Snow in order to free.
Eventually, Katniss’ love and willingness to sacrifice herself on others’ behalf extends to the entire nation of Panem, and as she realizes that everyone deserves to be free of the Capitol’s oppression, including herself, she also realizes that the real enemy isn’t looking back at her from the other side of a weapon – he’s sitting pretty in a marble mansion, pulling all the strings and stroking his blood-scented mustache in satisfaction.
For me, Katniss realizing who the real Enemy is represents 2 Corinthians 5:16, “From now on, then, we do not know anyone from a worldly perspective.” I’m so glad that I don’t have to see myself, or anyone else, based on what they have to offer or what threat they might pose; instead, I can view them through the lens of Christ, who gave Himself so that we could be free. Praise God!
My study: 2 Corinthians 5, 1 Samuel 16, and Ephesians 6
For the love of Christ controls us, having concluded this, that one died for all, therefore all died;
and He died for all, so that those who live would no longer live for themselves, but for Him who died and rose on their behalf.
Therefore from now on we recognize no one by the flesh; even though we have known Christ by the flesh, yet now we know [Him in this way] no longer.
Therefore if anyone is in Christ, [this person is] a new creation; the old things passed away; behold, new things have come.
2 Corinthians 5:14-17 NASB
When they entered, he looked at Eliab and thought, “Surely the LORD’S anointed is [standing] before Him.”
But the LORD said to Samuel, “Do not look at his appearance or at the height of his stature, because I have rejected him; for God does not [see] as man sees, since man looks at the outward appearance, but the LORD looks at the heart.”
1 Samuel 16:6-7
Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of His might.
Put on the full armor of God, so that you will be able to stand firm against the schemes of the devil.
For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the powers, against the world forces of this darkness, against the spiritual [forces] of wickedness in the heavenly [places.]
Ephesians 6:10-12 NASB
My journal pages
Conclusion
I hope you’ve enjoyed this post with my process of journaling Day 17 of Illustrated Faith’s Gratitude Documented project.
Happy journaling!
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