by Emmett Smith

"Dec. 7, 1941 - a date which will live in infamy…" – Franklin D. Roosevelt uttered this phrase in a speech to the Congress of the United States on December 8 following the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor. They attacked early on a Sunday morning, correctly expecting that that particular timing would ensure maximum unpreparedness on the part of the Americans. And although the carrier fleet had been ordered out to sea and was spared, the attack was certainly a success. But surely there's another historical event that is even more infamous.

It's recorded in Genesis chapter 3, and has been the subject of great secular literature. "Paradise Lost!", the newspapers might proclaim in inch-high bold type. Milton would surely agree. And we've been at war ever since. President Roosevelt declaimed the treachery of the Japanese in preparing for war while speaking peace through their embassage. Their treachery pales in comparison to that of the evil one! And he's plotting your demise.

That's right, he wants to take your soul as battle spoil. And if he succeeds you'll have only yourself to blame. Unlike the sailors at Pearl Harbor, we've been warned. We've been told to be watchful, vigilant, circumspect, as we walk this life. We've been taught about his deceit, his craftiness, and his subtlety. And repeated warnings throughout the New Testament inform us as to the nature of the conflict and of our foe. And most importantly, we don't stand alone in the conflict. "But the Lord is faithful. He will establish you and guard you against the evil one" (2 Thess. 3:3). See also Ephesians 6:10-18.

"Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or danger, or sword? As it is written, 'For your sake we are being killed all the day long; we are regarded as sheep to be slaughtered.' No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord" (Rom. 8:35-39).