Samurai Christians

So, it’s time for an off the wall entry. Last night I spent (wasted?) a couple of hours watching The Last Samurai with Tom Cruise. Obviously, recent history has turned me off to Tom Cruise, but I really got caught up in this movie. Well, regardless of all that mess, let me just let you know that these Samurai warriors in the movie were incredibly disciplined. They were people of one thing…discipline. Incidentally, the Samurai comes from a word that originally meant "to serve." The Samurai warrior was disciplined to serve their rulers. Their discipline enabled them to become all that they wanted to be, and all they wanted to be was available to their lord, the emperor.

Strange as it may seem, as I watched the movie, I was struck with the overwhelming sense of conviction that my life is not one of incredible discipline. The apostle Paul says, “So I do not run aimlessly; I do not box as one beating the air. But I discipline my body and keep it under control, lest after preaching to others I myself should be disqualified.” The Christian life must be one of discipline. If you are like me, you still have a long way to go.

But, I’ll issue a challenge for you as I have issued for myself. We must pursue discipline. You can be a Christian Samurai (if you like that analogy), but it will not happen without work. A Christian is called to service of his or her Lord above all else as well, but our Lord is intrinsically greater than any earthly ruler. Discipline brings about freedom; especially freedom in Christ when we live in obedience to his authority, allowing his rule to rightly restrain us. Essentially, when we submit wholly to Christ, we experience all that Christ has to offer.