(Two Knights Fighting in a Landscape by Eugene Delacroix)
Howard Pyle’s book The Story of the Champions of the Round Table is about three of the greatest knights of King Arthur’s Round Table. The second of these knights is Sir Tristram of Lioness. Sir Tristram came of age to be knighted, but he did not wish to be knighted until the opportunity arose to do some great deed. He waited, and the opportunity did come. His uncle, the king of Cornwall, had a dispute with the king of Ireland. They agreed to each send a knight who would do battle on their behalf. The king of Ireland sent Sir Marhaus, one of the greatest knights of the time. Marc, the king of Cornwall, didn’t know what to do, since in Cornwall all the knights were cowards and pretty bad at doing knightly things generally. So he was greatly relieved when Tristram offered to take up his cause and fight Sir Marhaus.
Tristram had just been made a knight by King Marc when he set sail for the island where he and Sir Marhaus were to do battle. He had not had any experience in combats such as he was about to take part in. Marhaus, on the other hand, was a veteran knight, seasoned by many battles.
But Tristram was not afraid, and furthermore, he believed he could overcome Sir Marhaus. He knew his advantage lay in the fact that he was younger– he had greater strength and more durability. And so he, who had been a knight for less than one day, did battle with one of the greatest knights in the world, and won.
Like Tristram, we will almost certainly face challenges in our lives that may seem too big to handle. But we can’t underestimate ourselves. We have to know what our strengths are– the greatest of these being the help of God– and face whatever we must do with courage. Because when we don’t think we can do something, we probably won’t be able to do it. But when we know we can do something– and we can do all things through Christ who strengthens us– anything becomes possible.