My Champion

I love the medieval period. I love the chivalry of knights and the code they lived by, with a few exceptions. Here is the code of Chivalry, knights were held accountable to this code by one another:

1. Believe the Church’s teachings and observe all the Church’s directions
2. Defend the Church
3. Respect and defend the weak
4. Love your country
5. Do not fear your enemy
6. Show no mercy and do not hesitate to make war with the infidel
7. Perform all your feudal duties as long as they do not conflict with the laws of God
8. Never lie or go back on one’s word
9. Be generous
10. Always and everywhere be right and good against evil and injustice

Now, I am not a fan of #6. If you know me, you know I am a mercy motivated guy, and I also ascribe that every single person has value and worth to God. So I am not thrilled about the wording of #6, otherwise the list is pretty solid for living your life and upholding those around you to do the same.

Anyway, I love the story of King Arthur and his Knights of the Round Table. I love how they were all so different and yet had their own strengths and weaknesses that the King recognized and was able to utilize them in a specific manor. They were all considered equals, some were better with swords than others, some were more relational than others, some were able to problem solve better than others, some were not better at anything – they just possessed a heart of a warrior that would never give up, even in the face of certain defeat.

During this time there was another practice of defending honor that could happen under the right circumstances. In the story of King Arthur, Sir Gawain (one of the trusted Knights of the Round Table) brings a charge against Guinevere, the Queen, that she had been unfaithful to the King. He had no proof, only suspicion. In that instance, the Queen could ask a Knight to step in as her champion to defend her honor and fight the accuser, which was Sir Gawain.

Sir Lancelot, also a Knight of the Round Table, agrees to be her Champion and defeats Sir Gawain, which meant the Queen was not guilty of the charges against her. You see, part of being the Champion was standing up for the accused and saying I do not believe this person is guilty of what they are being accused of and I will fight to defend their honor and rights. This is the code of chivalry.

Have you ever felt wrongly accused? Has someone accused you of being something you are not, or doing something you did not do? It is very frustrating and makes you feel weak and powerless. So many times, those accusations are in our head. They roll around in our brains, assaulting us with lies until we are too weak to fight and defend ourselves any longer… We give in and believe them.

“You are not good enough”, “Nobody really loves you”, “you should just quit because you always fail”, “You are not good at anything”… on and on, the assault comes.

Paul said it best when at the end of Romans chapter 7 we read, “Who will deliver me from this body of death”.

Paul is asking that eternal question… I know death is coming, I know I have messed up, I know I have made mistakes, I know I am not perfect, I know I cannot make everybody happy, but WHO WILL OVERLOOK ALL THAT AND SEE ME! WHO will defend me in my time of need and dishonor, WHO will place value on me that allows me to continue on and not be forced to retreat into darkness. WHO is able to shield me from the accusations of my mistakes and begin to uncover the gifts that have been put in me by my creator??

Paul answers his own question in the very next line, “Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord”.

Paul is saying…I found a Champion that will defend my honor and His victory is secured. He has never been defeated in battle, and through His victory on the cross, my accuser has been defeated and I no longer have to sit and listen to his lies about me, I no longer have to be a slave to his reminders of past failures and mistakes. The Bible tells me in I Peter 2:9 that I am a Royal Priesthood, a Holy Nation, a person of God’s own possession.

Please hear me, God is not your accuser or condemner, He IS your defender and your Champion. Call on Him today to come to your aid and defeat the lies of the accuser that keeps you from being all that you were purposed to be.

There is a song by Bethel Music called , ‘Champion’. You should listen to it, so good, here is the link: