The Best Defense Is A Good Offense

“Behold, I lay in Sion a stumblingstone and rock of offence: and whosoever believeth on him shall not be ashamed” (Romans 9:33). They say that the best defense is a good offense, and Christ is not just a good offense, but the best offense. Christ is the stumbling stone and the Rock of Offense because He is literally the realest, the most solid, the most undeniable force in the Universe. We can hit the Rock with everything that we have, but it will all shatter into pieces against the inevitable, indestructible realness of Jesus Christ. We can try to pretend that He does not exist, we can close our eyes and run as fast as we can, but all we will do is smack right into Him. When we feel the sharp pain of that which we pursue that is contrary to Christ colliding with the undeniable truth, we are feeling firsthand the Rock of Offense. If we want to know what we need to work on most, we just have to find the thing that offends us the most. Whatever part of the gospel we get most resentful or indignant about observing, this is the tender spot where our will running contrary to God’s laws keeps colliding with the Rock of Offense. If we want to defend ourselves against future misery, then our best defense is to notice our offenses, notice the pricks against which we keep kicking, notice the stones we keep stumbling over. As we pray for the Lord to open our eyes, we will stop running into the Rock and instead use the rock to protect us. An offensive line in a joke can make someone upset, but an offensive line on a football field protects the quarterback. It is up to us if we want to take offense at the Rock of Offense, or if we want to take the Rock of Offense as our Offense against the adversary. The wicked take the truth to be hard when they run into it like a brick wall, but the righteous take the truth to be the firm and unshakeable foundation that they can build upon to protect themselves from the winds of adversity.