“Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends.” (John 15:13)
Today is Veteran’s Day in America. There are posts all over social media honoring our veterans, there are quotes being circulated, there are memes all over the place. Today veterans are celebrating each other and honoring each others’ service to our great country. We remember the ones who didn’t come home and we embrace those who did. This is a day of great humility and gratitude amongst our veterans – and rightfully so.
Veterans share a bond with each other that is not found amongst any other group of people in society. They give each other grief over their different branches of service. The Marines pick on the Army, the Army picks on the Navy and the Air Force, and everybody forgets about the Coast Guard. Yet deep down, we respect the fact that we each – in our own way – dedicated our lives to the defense of our country. Combat veterans have an even closer, tighter bond – especially if they served in the same unit, campaign, or region. Veterans hold each other in their hearts and would willingly do whatever was needed to help a fellow veteran. Thank God for our veterans!
For years I have said that we, as Christians, should share that same sentiment. We have all been through the conflicts and battles of life. We suffer the same pains – maybe not the same circumstances, but the heartache of loss and the sudden pains of tragedy – and most of us know the relief of coming out the other side. Some to victory unspeakable, others to on-going trauma and PTSD. As fellow believers we should celebrate one another, we should defend one another, we should love one another – Baptist, Catholic, Lutheran, Assemblies of God, Pentecostal, Methodist, whatever. We all have but one Commander-in-Chief, Jesus Christ. He is our common bond and the battles we face bring us together as one.
Jesus taught His disciples in this one, singular verse what pastors should be preaching across the pulpit regularly. All too often we hear sermons on tithing (which is necessary), on victory (which is also needed), on struggles (which is to be expected), and on prosperity (I’m not gonna touch that one). Yet we don’t often hear the concept of laying down our lives for one another. What does this mean, exactly?
The whole concept of laying down our lives for one another is very similar to the oaths that we took when we entered the Armed Forces. We pledged our lives in the defense of our great nation. We vowed that we would unequivocally, unquestioningly sacrifice our plans for the future, our desires to raise a family, our dreams for business success, even our own health and life, if needed, in order to protect those of our fellow countrymen and women. We signed over all rights to our minds, our thoughts, and our actual physical bodies – we became one unit of property in the eyes of the United States military system. Back when I served we couldn’t even get tattoos without facing the loss of pay and promotion because we had defaced official government property. If we got sick because of our own neglect the prospect was the same. We ate what they told us to eat, we slept when and where they told us we could sleep, we thought only what we were told to think, and we did only what we were commanded to do.
It’s no wonder, then, that Paul compared our service to Christ to the military service. He reiterated this teaching when he said that we are ambassadors for Christ. Just to make sure we all understood what he was saying, he also said that we are in training as athletes for the kingdom. Everything we think, say, or do is strictly directed according to the Word of God. We have no personal opinion on a subject – we can only speak what the Father tells us to say. That’s being an ambassador. Our bodies are not our own – we press on toward the mark of the high calling which is in Christ. That’s being an athlete. We fight only the good fight, being fulled clothed in the armor of God and wielding the Sword of the Spirit, which is the Word of God. That’s being a soldier.
Oh sure we pick on each other. Just like the Army likes to torment the Marines about being sand flees and bullet sponges, we Christians like to poke fun at the Pentecostals as being “holy rollers.” The Marines like to call the Army dogfaces, mud puppies, legs, and a bunch of other things I can’t write here, the Pentecostals harass Baptists because they don’t believe in the fulness of the Spirit. On and on the division within the Body of Christ goes – each discarding each other for one reason or another. We are like siblings who fight amongst ourselves.
Yet when the chips are down, so to speak, and the battle rages against us from the world, it is my prayer that we would remember this teaching of Christ. He is teaching His followers that they are to set aside their personal agendas, set aside their differences and preferences, and make themselves available to serve one another, to assist one another, to build each other up. On the battlefield we attempt to heavily guard our re-supply lines and routes, for in so doing we hope to have enough provisions to continue the battle and win the war. The Marines rely on the Navy to transport them where they need to be. The Army relies on the Air Force to speedily deliver us to some remote conflict. The Coast Guard patrols the waterways around our homeland to protect it from enemy penetration. The Space Force works to make the heavens above our skies safe from weaponization by our enemies. Each doing our own thing, yet each working together to accomplish the mission.
The last words of Christ before He ascended back into heaven should forever be ringing in our ears: “Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you alway,even unto the end of the world. Amen.” (Matthew 28:19-20). This remains our mission, this is our vision, this is our command. That takes teamwork. That requires dedication. That demands sacrifice.
Be blessed.
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