FRIDAY REVIEW
June 6, A.D. 2008
Good
Soldiers of Christ Jesus
Endure
hardship with us like a good soldier of Christ Jesus. (2
Timothy 2:3)
Today many of us remember the 64th anniversary
of that costly and sacrificial day in history known simply as D-Day. As a
retired Army Officer and the son of a career Army Officer who fought in the
European Theater of Operations during World War II, D-Day has always been
poignant for me. On the 6th of June 1944, Allied forces consisting
of British, Canadian, Polish, Australian, Free French, and American troops,
invaded northern France by establishing beachheads on the coast of Normandy.
D-Day was the beginning of the end for Hitler’s National
Socialist (NAZI) forces, which had conquered, oppressed, and subjugated most of
Western Europe to include western portions of the Soviet Union and parts of
northern Africa. The horror of his reign of terror was marked by the torture
and annihilation of some six million people of Jewish descent. It was one of
the most evil regimes in history.
Great sacrifice was required to establish the Normandy
beachheads. Thousands of soldiers perished that day. Some drowned while
wading ashore; others were cut down on the beaches by machine gun, mortar, and
artillery fire; glider aircraft were shot down by anti-aircraft fire; and
paratroopers were shot out of the sky or died upon landing when they missed
their drop zones. This heroic suffering was captured powerfully in the 1962
epic movie “The Longest Day,” starring John Wayne and a host of other stars.
The invasion was once again captured much more graphically, violently, and
realistically by the 1998 movie “Saving Private Ryan,” starring Tom Hanks. The
2007 PBS seven-part documentary series “The War” focused on how this war
affected the lives of American families. Once again, the cruelty, violence,
suffering, and death were all too realistically portrayed. It was personal –
real people with real faces, real fears, and real families, and with real
struggles with God and the meaning of their suffering and sacrifice.
Brave men supported by brave women fought their fears, many
with God’s help, and found the courage to enter enemy-occupied territory and
engage the forces of evil, often at the cost of their own suffering or death.
It was during World War II that C.S. Lewis wrote his classic work “Mere
Christianity,” which he originally gave as a series of radio talks. He too
spoke of an invasion, of King Jesus entering enemy-occupied territory to defeat
the “Dark Power” of the evil one. Just as D-Day was the beginning of the end
for Hitler’s evil, so in a cosmic and eternal sense, the Incarnation of our
Lord Jesus Christ was the beginning of the end for Satan and his minions.
Jesus established a beachhead on this earth and defeated
sin, death, and the devil, and yet the struggle continues until He comes again
to consummate His victory. D-Day was followed by almost another year of
sacrifice, suffering, and death until the final victory in Europe came on May
8, 1945 (V-E Day).
Lewis wrote that God has called each one of us “to take
part in a great campaign of sabotage” against the enemy for the sake of the
Kingdom of God until Jesus comes again. We are all well aware of the suffering
and death of Christians for Jesus over the centuries. Just three days ago we
commemorated the Ugandan martyrs who were burned on a pyre for refusing to
submit to the local king and renounce King Jesus.
Most of us will not be called to experience death for the
sake of Jesus, but we might. One thing is certain. Each one of us is called to
be a witness for Jesus both at home and abroad (Acts 1:8). Will we suffer for
Christ? Yes, if we don’t deny him. We may lose buildings, pensions,
compensation, family, friends, and parishioners. Many of us already have. Many
of us still have decisions to make regarding the witness and the testimony of
our lives.
I pray that God
will grant each of us the wisdom and the courage to serve as “good soldiers of
Christ Jesus.” There are eternal souls at stake. Not only our words but also
our deeds will go with us as we stand one day before the Lord when He ushers in
His Kingdom. Be encouraged by these words from the Apostle Peter: “Dear
friends, don’t be surprised at the fiery trials you are going through, as if
something strange were happening to you. Instead, be very glad – for
these trials will make you partners with Christ in his suffering, and afterward
you will have the wonderful joy of sharing his glory when it is displayed to
all the world” (1 Peter 4:12-13).
Your brother in Jesus the
Christ,
Jim McCaslin+