Facing Titans! - By Adam Paul

It’s hard for anyone to deny the impact that the groundbreaking series, Attack on Titan, has had on the anime fandom. And rightly so! It’s easily one of the most compelling shows on television. For over a decade it kept fans rabidly theorizing and desperately waiting for the next episode to drop.

The show doesn’t shy away from lofty questions and challenging ideas, to the point that a lot of it would be impossible to cover in a quick little nerdy blog post. So instead, I’m going to think a little broader. A little bigger. I’m talking about giants.

The premise of the show is that the last remnants of humanity try to survive behind huge walls keeping out the hoards of giant man-eating beings (“titans”) until one day when they break through. Reflecting about facing down giants, any church kid’s brain is likely to go one to place in particular: David and Goliath. 

There’s some debate as to just how big Goliath was, but it is traditionally held that he was “six cubits and a span”, which would put him well over 9 feet tall! This dude was scary big. His armour weighed over 125 pounds, and he carried an enormous spear (1 Sam 17:4-7).

We all know how the story goes. Goliath challenges a champion of the Jewish army to face him in single combat, and mocks and jeers when none of the Israelites was brave enough to face him, not even King Saul, who himself was described as being notably large in stature. And then the little shepherd boy, David, steps up to the plate and takes him out with just a sling and a stone. Inspiring stuff! And a lot of people over the years have used this inspiring tale to encourage people to face down the giants in their own lives with God’s help.

Here’s the thing: you’re not David. David is a forerunner of one person, Jesus, the “Son of David.” I’m not suggesting that this story has nothing to do with you. Goliath is a stand-in for our sin. But the one taking him down is Jesus, not us! We’re the cowardly Israelites quaking in our boots back at camp, or behind the walls to bring it back to AoT. Jesus is the Scouts, bringing down the hordes of sin and despair. Our job? Trust in him. Lay our sins and our burdens at the foot of the cross. He says to us in Matthew 11:28-30 “Come to me all who labour and are heavy-laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.”

What giants have you been trying to fend off by yourself in your own life? Try laying them at the foot of the cross, praying that Christ would defeat them and give you rest from the burden.

Written by Adam Paul