In the Pentagon a shield hangs on one of the doors of the Vice Chief of the Air Force with a motto that shouts Bring Your Courage!
No kidding, I thought, as I passed the motto.
It takes courage to see that evil has made inroads so deep that a global war must be waged to deal with it and courage to step forward in a complacent world to wage that war. For a long time our citizens took for granted the security we provided them. After 9/11, some reacted by withdrawing into their homes and their communities.
As Christians we often react in the same manner to the spiritual battle, the war against evil for the souls of men and women. Some fear that evil, and retreat to their safe Christian communities to their families, churches and Christian networks. But that is not what God has called us to do.
When Jesus gave his last words to his disciples, he did not say, “Wait and see” or “stay together and comfort each other.” In Matthew 10:16, he said, “Go…” He directed them to engage the enemy and gain ground. “Go and make disciples. He sent them into the world ”as sheep in the midst of wolves.” When Jesus sent them out, into harm’s way, he also reassured them that they wouldn’t be alone when he said, “I am with you even to the end of the age.”
The men and women I work with in the Air Force live with the possibility of death. Though they accept that they might die for the cause of freedom, they do not live without joy or happiness. But they live with this reality that their lives are committed to a higher purpose.
As Christians we must remember that our purpose is to change lives to offer hope to the fearful and the lost to rescue men and women from eternal death, and to offer them true freedom in Christ. In this, we also need to live with the courage that moves forward in the face of danger.
He has told us to “Go” but he has also told us, that he is with us. If those who fight in our military can live courageously in the face of death for the sake of freedom, how much more should we live courageously who go with God.
Ask God what your part in His plan would be. And bring your courage!
God, give me the courage to go and fulfill your purpose of bringing others to you.
“I am sending you out like sheep among wolves. Therefore be as wise as serpents and as innocent as doves.” (Matthew 10:16)