I'm invincible . . . .. You're a loony.

I am the Black Knight. I have no good sense of myself, and when to surrender until its too late. I will fight tooth and nail, loosing limb after limb, and still believe that I'm invincible.

The church can be the same way. The church can believe that with enough smart people, a substantial budget, a history of successes and credentials, that it can become above the discipline of God. We will fight tooth and nail, God can remove people, power, and resources, and we still believe we are invincible.

We will stand limbless and proud and declare our supremacy in the face of God’s loving discipline. . . or we can choose to surrender to God’s loving discipline and be transformed.

I don’t want to be the Black Knight. The church doesn’t want to be the Black Knight. But we will be as long as we fight against God and choose not to recognize his loving discipline in our lives.

Hebrews 12:4-6 (NIV)
"4In your struggle against sin, you have not yet resisted to the point of shedding your blood. 5 And you have forgotten that word of encouragement that addresses you as sons: "My son, do not make light of the Lord's discipline, and do not lose heart when he rebukes you, 6because the Lord disciplines those he loves, and he punishes everyone he accepts as a son."