In the past I’ve written about the sword Excalibur and the similarities it had with the Bible.  I further pointed out that the rock, from which it was pulled, could be seen as Jesus, the Rock of our Salvation.  Yet in the Arthur legends there is another time in which he received Excalibur that brings home a good message.  Excalibur had been damaged, due in part, if I remember correctly, to his pride and the faulty leadership which followed.  When he humbled himself the “Lady of the Lake” took the sword which had been cast in the lake, remade it and held it up for King Arthur to once again wield in honesty and justice.

     Maybe you don’t see any correlation between that story and Christianity.  Well I have noticed the following points that I’d like to share with you. 

First there is Arthur, who by some reason of imagination, began to take pride in his role as king, not realizing that it was destiny, and Excalibur, that put him in that throne.  Filled with pride Excalibur could not be wielded as the need called for and was, in fact, broken.  In our Christian walk we tend to think that we are somehow special, that God had picked us out of all the other people in the world because we are special, not realizing it is He who makes us so.  When that happens we can almost surely expect to fall into any of Satan’s many traps and snares. 

Second, there is the act of Arthur realizing his foolishness and humbling himself.  This he does in time of need, but does so sincerely.  Isn’t that just like us?  We don’t tend to stay humble, but rather it’s when we really need God that we ask for forgiveness and humble ourselves before Him.  We need to walk in humility, realizing that we are but dust.  The apostle Paul puts it this way, “We carry treasures of gold in jars of clay”.  For it is the Gospel of Jesus that is “gold” to those who hear and heed His Word.  We are simply the clay pots or jars used to carry this Gospel to others.  Let us therefore learn to walk in humility before the Lord and before mankind, that the world will see Jesus in us.

Then there is the Lady of the Lake.  How does she fit into all of this?  Jesus told His disciples to tarry in Jerusalem for the Promise of the Father, and further stated, “After that the Holy Ghost is come upon you, ye shall receive power and be witnesses unto Me, in Jerusalem, in all Judea and Samaria, and unto the end of the earth.”  But what does this have to do with the Lady of the Lake?  Just this, who comforts in the home?  Who is it that nurtures the children in the home?  It is the mother, the woman, generally speaking of course.  Dads should also seek to comfort, encourage and nurture their children, but usually it is the loving touch of the mother that we remember rather than the long talks with dad.  That being the case, and I’m not trying to say the Holy Spirit is a woman, but it is that nurturing, comforting, teaching side of God that most resembles the woman.  We find in our mothers a strength that would otherwise not be there.  (Please forgive me if you come from broken homes or homes where the mothers were not at least trying to love their families).  Likewise, the Holy Spirit gives us the strength we need to walk in newness of life.  It is He that gives us insight into His Holy Word.  It is He who comforts, strengthens, teaches and guides us “into all truth” so that we might be equipped and not fall prey to the snares of the enemy.

Also it is interesting that the Lady of the Lake and the Holy Spirit are both associated with water.  The first, simply the water of that lake.  The Holy Spirit with that water that spiritual water that cleanses us from sin, that water that flows through us, giving us life.  And as we are renewed God’s Word, our Excalibur, is opened up to us afresh and anew.  May we walk in humility, by the power of the Spirit, who gives us life and strength, who teaches us all truth, that we may glorify God daily in our lives.