I stumbled across an entry in my journal that I thought might be interesting to whomever comes across this blog. Here it is, somewhat abridged (and amended), for your consideration:

7-14-08
Yesterday God revealed to me that it is relationship He is seeking in all the history of men. The devil and his working here is merely a subplot; establishing supremacy over him is not God's main purpose. And why should it be? The devil is a creature, one of God's creation, not an anti-god or an equal power to God. God permits him to sift the hearts of men, and reign here for a time, but he is not to be our focus. he has been for me, but God is calling me to just be with Him, the Lord of glory. He wants me just to love me, and in that relationship I become a useful tool to Him, but making me useful for the task of overcoming the devil is not the primary goal, as I thought before. What, then, would be left in eternity, once the devil is bound? "At the end of the meal, it is just you and Me."

[back to today's thoughts here] I am not saying, of course, that God does not wish us to be useful, or that He is indifferent to the devil's working. God loves His creation deeply, and has been working from the beginning to make it, make us, free again. 1 John tells us that Jesus came "to undo the works of the evil one." But why He wants to overcome the evil one is what I learned. Not for bragging rights, but for the purpose of restoring a loving relationship with His creatures.