Knowing My Place in the Kill Chain

I just had a strange realization recently and it came after spending some time pondering on Scripture and having a conversation over lunch with a very bright and intelligent young man.  This post is specifically targeted at my occupation as a member of the armed forces.  The passage that caught my attention is Jeremiah 51, specifically verses 20 through 24, where God is speaking of how he will raise up the Medes to exact his vengeance upon Babylon after they had occupied Israel.  The passage reads as follows:

20 "You are my hammer and weapon of war: with you I break nations in pieces; with you I destroy kingdoms; 21 with you I break in pieces the horse and his rider; with you I break in pieces the chariot and the charioteer; 22 with you I break in pieces man and woman; with you I break in pieces the old man and the youth; with you I break in pieces the young man and the young woman; 23 with you I break in pieces the shepherd and his flock; with you I break in pieces the farmer and his team; with you I break in pieces governors and commanders. 24 "I will repay Babylon and all the inhabitants of Chaldea before your very eyes for all the evil that they have done in Zion, declares the LORD.

I realized as I was reading this how God uses men as instruments not only to pour out mercy and blessing, but also to loose the arrows of His righteous fury on his enemies.  Then I was impacted by my place and my role in the dispensation of God's wrath.  The gravity of my position has shown me time and time again that lives are either saved or snuffed out based upon my work.  I always had a healthy appreciation of this responsibility, and a good understanding that it is not I, nor the marine, nor the bullet or the bomb that kills the enemy, but rather the hand of God that sets these events into motion.  I am reminded of General Thomas "Stonewall" Jackson's quote at this juncture.  He said: "My religious belief teaches me to feel as safe in battle as in bed. God has fixed the time for my death. I do not concern myself about that, but to always be ready, no matter when it may overtake me." I take these words to heart, and it has given me great faith that there is nothing I can do by myself to ensure the life or death of any man, but rather it is the sovereign will of God, as such I feel no remorse or moral objection to making war.  If these men were not appointed to die, it would not be so.  However, as such, the realization that I play a part in that kill chain is what has impacted me with such veracity.

Just as God had lifted up the Medes to destroy Babylon in retribution for their occupation of Israel, so too are we, as a nation being used all over the globe as the hammer of God.  Not to say we are any more righteous or right as a nation, or any more favorable to God than the Medes were when compared with his chosen people, Israel.  But there is no doubt that God is using us as his hammer to shatter the teeth of the young lions (Ps. 58:6) that come against His people, and ultimately His will.  Understanding my place within that series of events that takes place within that chain is truly humbling.  I feel so very humbled when I realized the fullness of what it means to be wielded as a hammer that's sole purpose is that of shattering nations.  I want to echo Job when he responds to God's questioning by saying "Behold, I am of small account, what shall I answer you?"  There is certainly a joy in doing what I do in service of the Lord and my nation, but its is a very somber sort of joy each time the fruit of my labor ripens.  

Yet, even in all this, I am again reminded of the enduring kindness God has for man.  Ezekiel 33:11 reminds us of God's love and tenderness even in his judgment with these words: "Say to them, As I live, declares the Lord GOD, I have no pleasure in the death of the wicked, but that the wicked turn from his way and live; turn back, turn back from your evil ways, for why will you die, O house of Israel?" Even Christ himself said it was his desire that everyone be saved.  What a kind deity it is who wishes that even his enemies would turn and come to him.  What a kind and merciful God that sends his own Son while we were still enemies, that we might be afforded an opportunity unto reconciliation. 

For: Dad

The apostle Paul wrote to the church in Thessaloniki because he did not want them to be uninformed about those who are asleep in Christ, so that those left behind may not grieve as others do who have no hope.  In the same spirit I would like to inform those of us who are left behind of the eternal inheritance my father has been ushered into.  We read the promise in 1 Corinthians 15 that states “Death is swallowed up in victory.” And we are told that there is no longer a sting associated with the grave.  We know that the sting of death is sin, but we have a hope because through Jesus Christ we have been given ultimate victory.  It is because of this that we can rejoice in the promise of salvation through the finished work of Jesus.   Dad has finished the race and he has had every tear wiped away in heaven where we are told there is no more sorrow and no more death.  While we may presently be sad because of his passing, we can rejoice as the angels are rejoicing because he is now in the presence of the everlasting God.  Dad very much enjoyed hearing about heaven when Tim would tell him of its beauty and promise.  I remember before I had to return home I told dad that if I didn’t see him again I would meet him there.  He asked; “Are you trying to bribe me?” He was enraptured by the description of the streets of gold, perhaps he thought he could pull up a brick or two, as if somehow it were worth anything compared to the rich mercies of our God.  I would like to end with the words of the prophet Isaiah and his description concerning our reception into the presence of the Lord:

He will swallow up death forever, and the Lord God will wipe away tears from all faces, and the reproach of his people he will take away from all the earth, for the Lord has spoken.  It will be said on that day, “Behold, this is our God; we have waited for him, that he might save us.  This is the Lord; we have waited for him; let us be glad and rejoice in his salvation.”

I love you dad, I’m looking forward to taking a tour of those golden streets with you some day.

Hope's Assembly Line

I'm not going to pretend that I'm the only soul out there who has been subject to serious and intense trial.  That would be arrogant, but it is during trial that we find ourselves most conformed to the image of Christ.  He was "a man of sorrow, well acquainted with grief." We are called to be like Christ in all ways, so it should stand to reason that we not think ourselves any better than our Savior.  It seems in some modern evangelical circles there is a sort of "prosperity gospel" being preached.  We are promised joy and peace and comfort, and while these are indeed byproducts of a close walk with the Lord; we should remind ourselves that there have been many promises from Christ himself that we would face "many troubles." I find myself in some of these very circumstances and I am reminded of a few choice verses at this juncture in my life.  First I am reminded of the words of Paul when he wrote in Romans 5 that we are to rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces steadfastness, and steadfastness produces character, and character produces hope.  That is the assembly line process by which hope is produced.  We are to endure these sufferings and within the fire and pressure of trial, it is here that our metal is tested best.  We are stripped bare and the truest core of our person is exposed, we cling hardest to what we find at the very center of our heart.  For some that is bitterness, for some it is fleeting pleasures of the world, but he who builds his house on the Rock is not easily shaken.  This time of trial and affliction in my life has provided some opportunities for others to witness how a Christian responds to hardship.  They get to see the response under fire and the living of the promise that "I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus as my Lord." (Philippians 3:8)

Not as though I am exempt from grief during these times, that too would be arrogant to say that I was above the melancholy associated with the pain of loss.  But it is in this state that I get to see how much more impressive the promise is that states "For this light momentary affliction is preparing us for an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison." (2 Cor 4:17) Or, how about the pleas of Moses in Psalm 90?  He is asking the God of the universe to provide succor and gladness in equivalent measure to the suffering that his people have endured.  I don't know about you, but I think it takes some serious intestinal fortitude to remind the God of the universe not to forget a promise.

Lastly, I would like to leave you with some encouragement that I received and found tremendously uplifting from a man who has long since beat me to his eternal weight in glory.

"The kingdom of God comes not into our souls with observation, nor does it grow in our souls with observation. And whether the good thus borne upon the raven-wing of trial, thus embosomed in the lowering cloud of some crushing providence, be immediate or remote, it matters little; sooner or later it will accomplish its benign and heaven-sent mission, and then trial will expand its dark pinions and fly away, and sorrow will roll up its somber drapery and disappear." -Octavius Winslow
The rest of his devotional on our present sufferings can be found: here.