Miyagi has brought Daniel to the point where he can face his own conflicts with wisdom, pride, and skill. The chosen place for this conflict is the local tournament. Miyagi will not be participating, only an observer. When Daniel asks questions about the tournament, Miyagi shrugs and explains it is his first time, too.
The goal of the mentor is not to raise up a man or woman of God to fight the mentor’s fight. This seems logical and common sense, but much of the modern Christian system is designed to teach people but keep them loyal to a group or a cause or movement. This is not what discipleship is for. A true leader or mentor in the Kingdom raises up leaders to follow God and God alone, wherever that may lead, but equips them to deal with whatever might happen, even if the mentor is ignorant of that next step him or herself.
Just as Daniel must fight his own fight, young men and women of God need to be discipled and left to truly, freely, be the disciples of Christ they were meant to be. But Daniel is not alone. Miyagi is with him, watching, coaching, encouraging the whole time. This is the mentor’s, the father’s, job. Sit on the sidelines and build up, encourage, let the young know you believe in them.
Daniel is rising through the ranks in the tournament. The evil master, John Kreese, tells one of his students to physically injure Daniel. They can’t stop Daniel according to the rules, so they resort to and cheating.
Being symbolic of organized religion, I hope you can see where this is going. Those bound by organization and tradition are severely challenged and threatened by those who have been organically discipled. They see the power, the authority, that doesn’t come from a class or seminary degree, and they lash out, usually verbally. And they teach others, those under their care, to do the same.
It hurts Miyagi to see Daniel injured, but Miyagi’s attention is not in revenge or retaliation. He is concerned with his student and goes back into the locker room with Daniel. Daniel realizes how well he was doing and asks Miyagi to help him. Miyagi does his little trick and partially heals Daniel, giving him a boost that allows him to keep fighting.
Ah, this hits so close to home. When those organically discipled are wounded by those claiming Christ, they need the comfort and true example of fathers in the faith. True fathers in the faith, while compassionate towards those who have been under their care, show the peace and confidence of someone who does not resort to revenge or retaliation, despite how wrong others might be. And more importantly, mentors bandage disciples and send them back out with confidence.
You never want to see anyone you love hurt or wounded, but so often you cannot protect them from what they must face. The best thing to do is to encourage them to keep fighting. If you let them quit in these moments, if you let them rely too much on your protection, then they don’t learn to truly manage their own conflict. They are still a child, not a man. Good fathers, despite the pain of seeing children wounded, send young men back out to fight the good fight.
Daniel then meets his nemesis, Johnny, at the championship match. Daniel, although wounded, still ends up in the lead. During a break, Kreese tells Johnny to “sweep the leg,” injure Danile further. The look of horror on Johnny’s face is telling: he has lost faith in his teacher, someone who would tell a student to stoop this low.
Evil is exposed for what it is. That is why mentors send men back out to fight the good fight. Those with approved character will shine while those bound will expose their . It is bound to happen in conflict. In reading stories and watching films on war, I have seen something important. Average men and women, generally, do things in war that they would otherwise never do. Some men do things so horrible that it is impossible to imagine one human being doing such a thing to another. Others, however, show capacity of such compassion that we are humbled at the sacrifice and selflessness.
I am not justifying war with these statements, only saying that during conflict, true character is revealed, righteous or wicked, and fathers in the faith realize this and long to see what the test reveals.
Daniel can only stand on one leg but still must face his opponent. His only option is the crane technique, a masterful technique Daniel could only awkwardly do before. But he remembers Miyagi saying, “if done correctly, no can defend.” The battle is engaged, and Daniel wins.
For those organically discipled, masterful techniques are picked up naturally, spontaneously, but we must realize this is necessary. Without that intimate relationship, disciples never pick stuff like that up, never see the possibilities, and are more likely to fail when ultimate crisis comes. But God knows what we will need in the future and uses these spontaneous times to teach, to show, and he brings these things to remembrance later so that we can be victorious.
The whole place goes mad … Daniel has won. He gets the trophy. Miyagi, while not hailed as the hero, looks on proudly. He doesn’t need the accolades. Daniel’s joy and victory satisfies him.
As it should all those who mentor or father in the faith. Another’s success should be enough. That is reward enough.
Peace.