Most people my age, and many younger, have watched a cartoon in which Elmer Fudd goes hunting for Bugs Bunny. There are hundreds of these hilarious cartoons in which Fudd walks around the fields and woods with his hunting cap on his head and a double-barrel shotgun in his hands, searching for the elusive rabbit. It seems he spends his days doing nothing else except hunting high and low for Bugs.
I can’t remember when as a child I came to the conclusion that Fudd was wasting an awful lot of time being horribly frustrated while hunting for one rabbit when he could have been doing something more productive in which he might have been more successful. After all, everyone watching him hunt knew he was walking outside of his gifts, talents and abilities. As a matter of fact, the only ones who enjoyed his hunts were his adversaries and those who were watching just to see him fail again.
You may be wondering what Elmer Fudd hunting Bugs Bunny has to do with you and me. The answer is: more than we might think. Just as Fudd did, we as believers can get caught up in hunting for our adversary, instead of simply being about our Father’s business. Way too many within the body of Messiah have gotten caught in the trap of hunting for our personal Bugs Bunny. We spend days searching high and low for conspiracies, demons and heresies and, just like Elmer Fudd, our adversary and those desiring to see us fail, as they sit back and watch us wear ourselves out or self-destruct in our own traps and snares.
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The truth is we were never called to be heresy hunters; we were called to share the Good News. We were not called to hunt for darkness; we were called to be light. This is not to say that we should simply ignore our adversary, nor does it mean we are to pretend the adversary doesn’t exist. It is to understand what we were taught in 2 Corinthians 10:4-6:
For the weapons of our warfare are not fleshly but powerful through God for the tearing down of strongholds. We are tearing down false arguments and every high-minded thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God. We are taking every thought captive to the obedience of Messiah— ready to punish all disobedience, whenever your obedience is complete.
Unlike Fudd, our weapons are not a shotgun and hunting gear. Our weapons are prayer, praise and sharing the Good News of Yeshua. We don’t need to slink around hiding behind trees, bushes and shadows. We need to shine the bright light of faith because, as we read in John 1:4-5, “In Him was life, and the life was the light of men. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overpowered it.”
Our calling isn’t to hunt for darkness; our calling is to be light. Remember that light is not the opposite of darkness. Light is the absence of darkness. When we shine brightly as light, people will do more than not see darkness. People will not only see us, but they will also see Yeshua, as we read in Isaiah 9:1, speaking of the Messiah: “The people walking in darkness will see a great light. Upon those dwelling in the land of the shadow of death, light will shine.”
Or as we read in Matthew 5:14-16:
“You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden. Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a basket. Instead, they put it on a lampstand so it gives light to all in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before men so they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven.”
So, today, instead of running from place to place hunting for darkness, let’s find the top of the mountain of our faith and be light. If every believer in Messiah would simply stop chasing darkness and start being light, darkness would be driven away by our light, and our Father would be glorified.
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Eric Tokajer is the author of “Overcoming Fearlessness,” “What If Everything You Were Taught About the Ten Commandments Was Wrong?”, “With Me in Paradise,” “Transient Singularity,” “OY! How Did I Get Here?: Thirty-One Things I Wish Someone Had Told Me Before Entering Ministry,” “#ManWisdom: With Eric Tokajer,” “Jesus Is to Christianity as Pasta Is to Italians” and “Galatians in Context.” Visit his website at rabbierict.com.
This is such an inspiring read. Thank you!!!