I have to admit, I have watched and enjoyed the Cobra Kai series. If you aren’t familiar with Cobra Kai, it is a series based on the Karate Kid film franchise, which is an incredibly cheesy, vintage 80s, spectacle in of itself.
I was a teen in the 80s when the first Karate Kid was released, but when I first heard of Cobra Kai, I had no interested to watch it whatsoever. It sounded equally cheesy. Which is why it took me so long to watch it. And I have to admit, it is a great deal of fun.
In the series, we encounter the two main characters of Karate Kid—Daniel LaRusso and Johnny Lawrence—as adults. Now, in the original film, Daniel was made out to be the hero and Jonny the prototypical villain. But some have argued since that Johnny was actually the victim in the movie and Daniel the aggressor. (You should be able to find a YouTube video breaking that down.)
Cobra Kai plays off of that question of who is really the hero and who is the villain. At times you find yourself drawn to both. At times you repelled by both. The motivations of both are explored more in depth and both are complicated. (For the record, I find myself on Johnny’s side more than Daniel’s.)
A Question for Each of Us
Why am I talking about Cobra Kai? Because I think it can be helpful in challenging our perceptions of something much more important than a fictional film series and show.
Many times, we tend to paint people with a broad brush and classify them as “hero” or “villain.” “Friend” or “enemy.” But the reality is that it is not that simple.
We start with placing ourselves firmly in the “hero,” “good person,” “friend” camp. And then we align those who are like us or who like us into that same camp and expel most everyone else into the other.
As a result, we can look at some people and conclude that they deserve Jesus. Others? Not so much.
But is that right? Nope. Not at all.
If nothing else, Paul’s conversion explodes this myth into a million pieces. (And the Scriptures provide plenty more than this.) We would all have put Paul squarely into the “enemy” camp. And even further into that camp—into the unredeemable subgroup of that camp.
But look what God did. And look what we can learn from what God did. God can take even the staunchest opponent and make him or her one of His greatest vessels of His glory.
The Gospel’s Answer
The question we asked above does have an answer. And it is actually pretty simple. Everyone—including you and me—belong to the “enemy” camp. We are all born as “villains.” We all have a spot next to Paul on that team’s bench.
Easy, right? But painful too. It’s not fun and it may not be popular, but it is true. Look at how Paul himself describes all of us:
6 For while we were still helpless, at the right time, Christ died for the ungodly. 7 For rarely will someone die for a just person — though for a good person perhaps someone might even dare to die. 8 But God proves his own love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. 9 How much more then, since we have now been justified by his blood, will we be saved through him from wrath. 10 For if, while we were enemies, we were reconciled to God through the death of his Son, then how much more, having been reconciled, will we be saved by his life. 11 And not only that, but we also boast in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received this reconciliation. (Romans 5:6-11 CSB)
Helpless. Ungodly. Sinners. Enemies.
Quite a resume. But it is a resume we all share. We are all Johnny Lawrences…or maybe that should be Daniel LaRussos…I am so confused there. Forget that—we are all sinners before God.
Our Response
So what do we do with this cheerful truth? Actually, it is cheerful. But we will come back to that.
First, we need to respond with humility. We are no better, and no worse, than anyone else. We all stand on equal footing apart from Christ. Let that drive humility deep within us. We aren’t as special as we might think. God didn’t have an “easy” day saving us. Our salvation came at the exact same cost as Paul’s—the Son’s blood.
Second, we need to respond with grace. Again, we are no better than anyone else, so let’s cast aside the temptation to treat others as inferiors. Yes, some people do horrendous things that we have not done, but we have done other horrendous things before a holy God. Let’s fight to find hope that God can save anyone and let’s pray toward that end.
Third, we need to respond with joy. Told you we would come back to cheer. Yes, this message is cheerful because it reminds us of the great transformation the gospel brings. The gospel makes enemies children. It makes the dead alive. It makes sinners righteous. The more we come to see and appreciate the immense contrast in who we were and who we are now are in Christ, the more joy we might feel because of what Jesus has done for us—for all of us who have trusted in Him.
We who formerly hated and murdered one another and did not even share our hearth with those of a different tribe because of their customs, now, after Christ’s appearance, live together and share the same table. Now we pray for our enemies and try to win those who hate us.” — Justin Martyr (c. 100-165)
Justin Martyr, First Apology 67, quoted in The Early Christians in Their Own Words, edited by Eberhard Arnold (Rifton, NY: Plough Publishing, 2011), 83.
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