Whose You Are

"And He [Jesus] said to them. "Whose image and inscription is this?" They said to Him, "Caesar's." And Jesus answered and said to them, "Render to Caesar's the things that are Caesar's, and to God the things that are God's." And they marveled at Him."

This is a story which I'm sure we are all familiar with, and it is usually associated with obeying the authority that has been put over you, for it has been brought there by God. But this time I read it I thought about it different light of, "Whose image...is this?" Now when I read this I thought of how we are made in God's image, and if we believe in Him and accept Him as our Savior we are inscribed as His. But the opposite is also true, if we don't believe in Him and we reject Jesus as our Savior we are not inscribed as His, but are inscribed as the Enemy's, Satan's. For just as the text said, " Render to Caesar's the things that are Caesar's..." For if you have rejected Jesus and therefore been inscribed as Satan's you will be given over to him as his and the image that once was of God is now transformed into that of darkness. 'Render to Satan's the things that are Satan's...' Yet for those of us who have believed in God and accepted Jesus as our Savior, we are saved and inscribed as one of God's; under His name and made perfect in Christ image, reflecting God and therefore light and life everlasting! '...And render to God the things that are God's.'

And Now, Noble Lady, Take Courage...

"And now, noble lady, take courage; no stranger shall in the future dare to expel you from your domains: consider yourself as under my protection, and rely upon me at all times."

The story that came before this was that of a middle-age women, who had recently found herself widowed, and her young daughter, who had found herself fatherless. Upon the hearing of this woeful fate, two knights, covetous of riches, seek to take advantage of the helpless widow in her predicament and rob her of all her possessions and land, which her late husband had left her and her daughter. Therefore, seeking refuge, aid and comfort, went to the one to whom her husband, in dying, had pronounced trust and confidence: Knight Theobald, and with him "no enemy shall hurt you!" Though she had never set eyes on this man, she came just the same seeking refuge from him. After telling the knight of the woeful fate that had befallen her, he set out to confront the widows enemy and redeem back any land or possessions that had been taken from her. As he departed he made provision for their safety while he was gone and said, "As for you, remain here with your child until my return, and you shall soon learn the good news that I hope to return with." And indeed they did, for upon his return he brought with him the good news, that both enemy's had yield to her claim, and further reassured her with, "And now, noble lady, take courage; no stranger shall in the future dare to expel you from your domains: consider yourself as under my protection, and rely upon me at all times."

I say this all to say this, what this knight did for this lady who found herself widowed and child who found herself fatherless, is exactly what Jesus has done for us. When woeful fates have befallen us that leave us fatherless or widowed we can run to our Knight of Trust and Confidence, though we have never set eyes on Him, we can trust Him completely and seek refuge from Him. And when the enemy of our souls tries to take our inheritance or land we have conquered in Christ's name, we can run to our Knight and Refuge. He will mount up with His men of valor and come back with joyous news, that our foe has cowered and retreated at the mere presence of our Knight; and He will say to us:

"And now, nobel lady, take courage; no stranger shall in the future dare to expel you from your domains: consider yourself as under My protection, and rely upon Me at all times."