Special Forces should sound a lot like the the men that Jehovah God selected to defend Israel against the invaders from the east a few thousand years ago. Gideon was the reluctant leader of an army that originally numbered about 32,000 men. Those men who trembled with fear at the prospect of defending the defenseless were allowed to quit the army, reducing the number to 10,000. God still thought that was too large an army and he did not desire an Isaralite victory in battle to be attributed to the men's own strength and valor. So he winnowed the army down to 300 men to defend Israel against the massive Midianite army. God brought about a great victory without the Israelites having to lift a finger. The Midianites killed off themselves as they turned on each other.
That's us today - turning on each other.
We need help in this city.
So I have a question. Can Special Forces be like that meager band of 300 who will break with the culture of death and hatred and instead of turning against one another, will turn toward and embrace and support one another. No matter what race or religion or background or life experience, will a few men humble themselves and pray and seek the face of God in the name of the only Savior of this planet, Jesus, the Jew from Nazereth? Can a group like Special Forces take their places as Jesus' representatives as the servant of all in Indianapolis.
Can you turn dark, dangerous streets into avenues of opportunity?
On the dangerous street corners, in strife torn homes, whereever people are that do not know God's love and are vulnerable and defenseless? I rejoice that you all are rising up not in might or power but by God's spirit. May Indianapolis see that the real Christ, who was killed on account of our hatred and wickedness and assault against God and his creation, is the risen Christ who lives and reigns and has conquered death once and for all.
Can this be a start to some good news in our town which will dominate all the bad news?
Let me know - I've been pretty set on thinking that nothing's going to change - please bring to our town something that gives us hope.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
3 comments:
Many of the Men's Accountability Groups - having risen out of CPC's monthly Tuesday Connections - have begun reading through J.C. Ryle's *Holiness: Its Nature, Hindrances, Difficulties, and Roots*, and my daily reflections on holiness - built upon both Ryle's comments and other holiness literature over the years - has started convicting me of an unusually provocative thought, which strikes me as being very much in line with the ministry of Special Forces: namely (and in just a few general words), holy living seems to mean being willing to put myself in harm's way and in my persecutors' sight so that I may be a witness to the strength, power, and glory of the Lord Jesus' message of hope to the world. I need to explore and pray about this increasingly more, yes; but this means something much more than having the reluctance to back down so that I might walk the Earth tomorrow morning. I need to expound in this blog on the shortage of martyrs in America (to say nothing of their shortage among the Americas and European nations); but Special Forces may just be the most convincing ministry available to men for acting out their faith in a useful – and needful – manner. I invite all men to not merely pray for the effectiveness and success of this ministry, but also for the Lord to speak to us about to what capacity we might – and must – become involved.
Good stuff John. You are right on!
Yesterday (well, actually, over the past few days now, after a fairly convicting personal devotions time – but that’s beside the point), I was reflecting on the water of life - not to be confused, of course with *the* Water of Life that is Jesus Christ: I’m referring, instead, to those aspects of our lives – our affluent lives, our American lives, Western Culture-cum-Church lives – that, unknowingly, unwillingly, but all too intentionally, “water down” the message of the Gospel of Jesus Christ, oft times right before our very eyes but unbeknowest to us. I’m not necessarily referring to those things that get in the way from us understanding the story of the Good Samaritan, or the possibility that we are all too definitely the “rich young rulers” Jesus confronted in Mark chapter 10: all the searching of the Scriptures won’t pull us too far from the message of these episodes, and getting around or ignoring that message is an inexcusable mindset, but I’ll leave it to your convictions to tackle those demons on your own time. Instead, I’m referring to what causes us to wrestle with what Jesus meant by taking up our Cross – how that means something between denying the moment and giving it to Him, and (wait for it – this is extreme) denying ourselves and answering the call to die. So anyway, at the risk of trivializing this matter or, worse yet, explaining it away by suggesting in another extraneous factor, I nonetheless stumbled upon a memory – and please don’t ask me why I think of these things – of an Economics Professor teaching about “Opportunity Cost.”
Consider this: We have imperfect yet loving families, fruitful yet finite careers and vocations, vibrant yet flawed intellectual and emotional faculties that lead us astray at exactly those moments we just know we’re making progress in our spiritual formation – but at what cost have we sought these opportunities? Do they make us selfish? Perhaps, but that’s not even what I’m talking about, either. While I can’t recall the exact verbiage of a definition for “Opportunity Cost” shared with me (hey, I warned you it’s been a while), this term is basically the passing up of a good choice when making the decision to follow another option. It’s not an actual, tangible cost, but rather a reward we forego at the expense of what we’ve chosen to do. It’s not always a measurably “good” or “bad” consequence, but is always a judgment call. The Water of Life, as I have called it above, is loaded with opportunity costs. I would argue that we miss what the Gospel provides for us sometimes not because we’re stubborn (although we are) or have nothing better to do (although we don’t, usually), but because we don’t seek other opportunities – *maybe* because we *are* too stubborn or busy. I’m not making a plead for us – not here, anyway, not today - to step out of our comfort zones, or apply what I’ve been praying about into a sly and guilt-laden invitation for you to volunteer time and energy for Special Forces (sorry – I don’t have that in me); but I would compel you, all of you, who read this right now, to consider what the Lord is calling for and from you, and then stack that up with the opportunities you’re seeking today. And ask yourself: are you in a “space between,” or has the Lord provided a new opportunity that you’ve convinced to be out of your reach?
For me: Special Forces is an opportunity. I’ll leave it at that.
Post a Comment