Blog

by Logan Ames

Today is the one day of the year in the United States that we set aside a full day to honor all military veterans past, present, and future. Regardless of what we all think about some of our nation’s decisions regarding military intervention, we must always be willing to support and appreciate those who make sacrifices in service to others. They sacrifice time with their families, the comforts of home, and years off their lives due to lasting physical and mental health complications that come from their time spent in combat. Jesus told his disciples, “Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one’s life for one’s friends” (John 15:13). While we remember those who paid the ultimate sacrifice on Memorial Day every year, Veterans Day is a time to reflect on the many freedoms we have and honor those who have given up something to preserve them.

There is a lot that we, the universal body of believers in Jesus Christ, can learn from what we see in the United States military. I’ll start with the obvious. The individuals who comprise our great military model the desire to serve others that Jesus talks about in Mark 10. He had been with his disciples when suddenly, James and John pull him aside and tell him they want him to allow them to sit beside him in glory. Jesus proceeds to explain to them that it’s one thing to talk the talk, but to have such a position in his kingdom will require them to go through the same things Jesus was going to go through. The rest of the disciples get annoyed with James and John, but Jesus, rather than condemn them for their selfish thinking, uses the opportunity as a teaching moment and reminds his disciples that even he, the Son of Man, the only One who would truly be deserving of others serving him, came instead to “serve and to give his life as a ransom for many” (Mark 10:45). While we all understand that our government as a whole does not always intervene militarily with noble purposes, no one can deny that the individuals who sign up for the force do so with the opportunity to serve other human beings making up at least part of their motivation.

Another similarity between the body of Christ and the U.S. military is that both are called to be peacemakers as part of their mission. Now, before you tell me that’s not the case for those who fight with guns and worldly weapons, I’d like you to consider what it means to be a “peacemaker." Jesus said, “Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God” (Matthew 5:9). Jesus didn’t say, “Blessed are those who always LIVE in peace." We know that living in peace is not always possible with someone else because they might have their heart set on bitterness and anger toward us. That’s why Paul says in Romans 12:18 that we should live at peace with everyone “as much as it depends on you." He also understood that peace is not always possible. Sometimes, the peacemaker is one who mediates between two other fighting parties. Sometimes, the peacemaker is the offended party but chooses to forgive or overlook the offense. And still other times, the peacemaker is the one who eliminates any threat to peace. That’s where the U.S. military comes into play. They have the hardest job in the world and sometimes have to make the excruciating decision to take out those who stand in the way of peace. And while many Christians can’t see how this could be Christ-like, remember that David took out Goliath as he defied God and stood in the way of God’s plan for his people.

The late Fred Thompson once said, referring to our beloved United States, “This country has shed more blood for the freedom of other people than all the other nations in the history of the world combined." I remember writing a paper on Joshua Lawrence Chamberlain, a brigadier general for the Union during the Civil War who had left his prestigious position as a professor at a college in Maine to fight for what was right. He had talked often about his understanding that the horrible war and the scourge of slavery would not be put to an end until men like him were ready to make personal sacrifices. Chamberlain did not perish in the Battle of Gettysburg, but his wounds from the battle caused him to live in some level of suffering for the rest of his life. He accepted this because he just could not sit idly by while the injustice of slavery continued in his beloved country. That’s a peacemaker!

Yes, I understand there are some conflicts that our country should’ve probably never entered. But our military still has the strictest rules of engagement and the harshest penalties for those who kill innocent civilians due to either anger or accident. We take far greater care than any other military in the world when it comes to opposing civilians, because we know that war is the last resort when peace could not be obtained through agreement. We’re not interested in eliminating those who live in a country opposing us just because they live there. We just want to get the bad guys, specifically those who stand against peace or those who oppress others. Isaiah 58:6 tells us that, to truly fast and humble ourselves before God, we must be “loosening the chains of injustice and setting the oppressed free."

And finally, the body of Christ can learn from the unity of the United States military. This day and age, our nation is so divided because everyone looks out for themselves and everyone is concerned about their “individuality." Sadly, this has infiltrated the Church. In the body of Christ, as in the military, there’s no such thing as an “individual." While we may have been created uniquely by a wonderful Creator, we cannot live the Christian walk alone. Paul says in 1 Corinthians 12 that we are all members of one body. We have different backgrounds, views, opinions, like and dislikes, brokenness, skills, and struggles, but we are UNITED in Jesus Christ as his body. Likewise, those in the United States military come from all different backgrounds. However, any individuality is cut away - literally - the moment they arrive at basic training. You get a haircut and a uniform. And the barber doesn’t ask you what look you want because he/she already knows what look you’re getting!

I had an opportunity recently to spend about 4 days with a group of young men in the United States Marine Corp who are currently serving our nation on deployment. I got to spend that time with them while they are away from their families and in a foreign country halfway around the world. As we talked about their families, I could sense the pain of being away and the increasing excitement at the thought of returning home. What struck me even more though was the diversity of our military. We know there are men and women from all over, but in the group I was with, they were all from different states. They were different ages and different stages of life. One guy’s father even lives in Mexico and denounces his son’s choice to join the U.S. military, yet the young man felt a call to serve others and joined anyway.

In the Church, we’ve got to stop focusing on our differences and instead focus on the Jesus who died for all of us. We were first united in the fact that we are all sinners, but we have since been united as those who have been born again by the blood of Jesus and his Holy Spirit. We have a common goal to be Jesus’ ambassadors to a lost world, and that goal cannot be accomplished when we are constantly bickering. In the United States military, if someone goes rogue, it can have devastating consequences for everyone. We have to accept that the same is true for the body of Christ. As we salute those who serve or have served our country today and the unity with which they pursue the goals of peacemaking and fighting for the oppressed, let us learn from their example.

This forum is meant to foster discussion and allow for differing viewpoints to be explored with equal and respectful consideration.  All comments are moderated and any foul language or threatening/abusive comments will not be approved.  Users who engage in threatening or abusive comments which are physically harmful in nature will be reported to the authorities.