A Call To Arms Part 7

A soldier without weapons is a soldier at a disadvantage. Even though the movies insist that one man with a toothpick, a shoelace, and a compass can take on an entire army on foreign soil without knowing the terrain, between the guy with the knife and the guy with the gun the guy with the gun usually wins.

If two men of equal proficiency only differed in the weapons at their disposal, then logic would dictate the man who was better equipped, who had access to more weapons, would win out over the one who was not.

Meeting the enemy on the battlefield is a hard enough task when we are fully equipped, and have every weapon at our disposal in our arsenal. Even then the devil gets in a few blows, and even manages to fell some, men who we thought undefeatable, and beyond the enemy’s reach. This often happens if the individual in question is either distracted or not sufficiently equipped for the task at hand.

As I’ve said before, the easiest way to get one’s clock thoroughly cleaned is to underestimate one’s enemy, and go into battle unprepared, unfocused, and ill equipped.

We cannot take anything for granted in battle. No soldier ignores the fundamentals of making sure his gear is clean, and that everything is working as it ought, because he knows his life depends on whether his gun will fire, or his sword will cut.

We must make it a priority to not only make certain we have all the weapons we can get our hands on in our possession, we must also make certain they are ready for warfare when the time comes.

I have quite a few friends who are into guns, who own guns and enjoy shooting them at the range or to go hunting, and to the last every man is meticulous about cleaning his weapon after use, making sure everything is as it ought to be for the next time he goes out shooting or hunting.

This notion of always being ready, of always having sharpened swords and battle ready armor must be as second nature to us, an extension of who we are, and what we are.

A soldier never stops being a soldier, nor should a Christian ever stop being a Christian regardless of his surroundings, or the people he comes in contact with.

I see a man in uniform and I know he is Navy, Army, Marine, or Air Force based on the aforementioned uniform. Men should likewise be able to tell we are Christians by our countenance, our conduct, our speech, our decisions and our behavior.

No, it’s not about works, it’s about mirroring Jesus. It is not about earning our salvation, but rather about manifesting the fruit salvation ought to have wrought in us upon encountering the Christ.

Words without action are meaningless. I can tell my wife I love her, but if my every action contradicts my proclamation, she will realize something is amiss. She will see that all I am doing is saying some word which have no meaning because there is no action undergirding them.

Many today say they love Jesus, then never do a thing to show that love. They have no desire to spend time with Him, they have no desire to serve Him, they have no desire to obey Him, they have no desire to know Him, and yet, they proclaim, and vociferously so that they belong to Him. Many today say they are soldiers for the cause of Christ, and never follow through in defending the selfsame Christ for whom they said they were a soldier.

It is because they follow through with action that some men are counted to be men of their word, and not simply because they spoke the words.

I know men who are men of their word, and I know blowhards who talk a big game but never follow through with anything. I know men who say little and do much, and I also know men who say much and do little.

It’s not about the words, it’s about the action, it’s not the theory, it’s the practical application of faith and salvation that we must endeavor to live out daily.

The same is true for those who consider themselves soldiers for Christ. There is a marked difference between a man who says and a man who does, and the man who does usually doesn’t say so much. The man who does knows the hardships of battle, he knows the draining effects it has on one’s vitality, and he knows there is no glory in war but only in victory, and as such does all he can to stand victorious when the dust has settled and the departed have been counted.

With love in Christ,
Michael Boldea Jr.