Demons

They say it’s what you make,

I say it’s up to fate,

It’s woven in my soul,

I need to let you go.

Your eyes, they shine so bright,

I want to save that light,

I can’t escape this now,

Unless you show me how.

What is this illusion we see? The innocence of youth? In our blind belief, perhaps we can find the truth. It’s such a gift. Even those who have lost this innocence wish to keep the innocence of others. Whether it be a parent and kid, or a friend to another friend. Each of us have our own demons — some greater than others. These demons can take any form. Emotional scars, physical sickness, or sinful temptations are just to name a few. We wish to keep others innocent, even if it’s at our own loss. We wish for the innocence to be true. Yet, that’s all we can do. A simple wish.

So let me ask you the following: Could there be such an innocence? If so, is it worth the fight? If not, how can we tolerate this pain just a little longer? If not, surely that’s the only option. I’m reminded of Jack London in what he wrote. Books such as Call of the Wild, White Fang, or The Sea Wolf to name a few. London talks a lot in his books of a concept called social Darwinism. To thrive does not regard good or evil. It regards struggling and clawing your way to the top in whatever way necessary. But that’s not what I want to talk about here. Let’s go on…

In The Sea Wolf, it’s especially dark. Some might claim the darkest book out there due to what it teaches. Let me explain my point of view. The main protagonist of this story is named Humphrey. He’s a typical wealthy, kind-hearted, innocent individual. I see Humphrey as the ultimate good. In other words, I see Humphrey as innocent. He always has his neighbor on his mind. On the opposite side is the antagonist of the story, which is Wolf Larsen. He’s a ship captain who is as evil as they come. I see Larsen as the ultimate evil. There isn’t one good bone in his body. Larsen is willing to force people into his crew. He then manages them through abuse and fear. But this evil is more than that. You see, Larsen uses his intelligence and physical strength to have his way on others. The crew fights to be free, but they are left beaten down at every chance.

Why am I telling you this? The point that makes this story so bad isn’t that Wolf Larsen — the “ultimate evil” — wins every battle. It’s that he goes to Humphrey — the “ultimate good” — and forces Humphrey to lose his innocence. Towards the end of the book, Humphrey resorts to doing various evil deeds such as Larsen. Hence the main lesson of this story: The ultimate evil always overrides the ultimate good… or does it?

We then look at Jesus. He came as a baby in a manger, raised by common people, and lived in his early adulthood as a humble carpenter. It’s pretty clear that Jesus represents the “ultimate good” through His teachings of love and compassion. On the other hand, you have Satan — the “ultimate evil.” There is no good in Satan. As the story goes, Jesus was beaten and crucified… This leads to the same lesson given by The Sea Wolf. The ultimate evil always defeats the ultimate good. But that’s not the end of this story, is it? Three days later, Jesus rose from the grave. Jesus proved that although evil might seem to have the upper hand, good always wins in the end. Jesus came in this world to be a light in the darkness, and the darkness cannot put it out.

So let us rest this holiday season. There is such a thing as innocence. No matter what age we are, Jesus is always there to restore our innocence. This is to allow us to be lights as well. May we always strive to be the image of the “ultimate good.” May we always strive to follow Christ.

God bless you this holiday season.