In the month of November 2009, the History Channel had a special series call-ed World War II in HD.  I only caught a moment of the program as I was enjoying a cup of coffee in the ER break room.  During that fifteen minutes break I got to see the video of battles as they were fought in Africa and the Pacific Ocean.  It was interesting because the backdrop narration for the movie were letters that the GIs had written to family about the war.  To my surprise, two of these men wrote virtually the same thing to their loved ones.  Each talked about how they were just miles from the actual battle, but waiting to be sent into war.  Both of these men complained that they were tired of the wait.  They grumbled about the continual training and an anxiousness to be battle tested, even at the risk of death. 

                                                                                                                                   That comment seemed odd at first until I remembered a story that my friend had told me about his military service.  He reported that in the 90’s he was a part of the Army for several years and was painfully close to seeing combat.  Then in 2002, when the US invaded Iraq, my friend considered re-enlisting so he could finally get into battle.  As my friend told me this story, I thought he was crazy especially since he was married at the time and making plans to start a family. What I didn’t understand was that in his mind, the only true soldier was one who had fought in battle.  When I recently wrote to this friend to verify our conversation, he was quick to remind me that those feelings were very selfish and he was glad he never re-enlisted.

                                                                                                                                  As I meditated over these thoughts, it became clear that this was a perfect analogy for the Christian life.  Through the inspiration of the Holy Ghost the Apostle Paul wrote in Ephesians 6 that you, “Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil.”  The reason Paul wanted us to put on the armor of God was to fight in the battle against the devil and the forces of evil.  In other word, the Apostle wants us to live like soldiers.  Through a little more study, I discovered two more instances that Paul referred to his brethren Epaphroditus and Archippus as soldiers (Philippians 2:25 & Philemon 1:2). But Paul’s strongest plea to be like a soldier was given to Timothy.  In II Timothy, Paul urges Timothy to, “Share in suffering as a good soldier of Christ Jesus. No soldier gets entangled in civilian pursuits, since his aim is to please the one who enlisted him.” (II Timothy 2:3-4).  As believers in Christ, we are called to please the Lord who sacrificed himself on the cross for our redemption.  And as Christ traveled the countryside ministering and proclaimed the kingdom of God, we are also called to minister and proclaim the Gospel of Jesus Christ through the world we live in.

                                                                                                                                  Is this plea by the Apostle Paul taken seriously by those who claim to be Christians, and are the church leaders sounding the battle cry to the believers within their body?  Over the past few weeks I have posed this question to several friends and they typically had the same response.  There does not seem to be an anxiousness by Christians to minister to the world, or to be properly trained to speak the gospel to those who are caught in the trap of the devil (II Timothy 2:26). 

                                                                                                                                   Why are there so few people who are actually in the battle for God’s Kingdom on earth? Some people feel the problem is likely due to the fact that many people who claim to be a Christian are actually false converts. In the US Army when a soldier is absent from duty for thirty days, they are ruled a deserter and then face stiff penalties. If they are chronically labeled a deserter then they are removed and no longer recognized as a soldier. How many people within the American church have failed to train or share the gospel over the last thirty days? How many times have they heard the command of Christ called the Great Commission and still refused to prepare or enter the battle?

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                      Tsecond The second reason for this problem may be due to the failure of the leaders within the church to declare the battle cry to the people.  Christ showed the apostles over his three year ministry, how he wanted them to train and battle.  Then the apostles were sent out to live their lives like they saw Christ live, and they did this even to the point of death.  Even though we have not been trained by Christ, like the apostles, we can go to the scriptures and see what we must learn and believe and then to live for Christ. 

So let us repent of our failure to properly battle, and pray for the wisdom on how to do the Lord’s will. Let us encourage those who we fellowship with to either be in training, or in the battle. And sound the battle cry to those who proclaim to be brethren, for the Kingdom of God is at hand.

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