During the 1970s, 80s, and 90s many people served an entire career in the military without ever seeing combat or firing their weapon at someone who wanted to kill them. Few service members saw action in Desert Storm, and although there were military operations in other hot spots around the world and some special operations units were called upon to serve in various crises, many who wore the uniform over a span of twenty-five years spent their entire career preparing for war but never engaging in it. This is not their fault, and there is no shame in it. They answered the call to service, and most of them served faithfully and well. Had they been called into combat, they would have gone. But as it turned out, they served during a time of peace.
September 11, 2001 changed everything. As the world watched terrorists fly planes into the Twin Towers, men and women rushed to recruiting offices and volunteered to serve. Retired service members, reservists, and those whose terms had already ended reached out to the chain of command, many of them begging for an opportunity to come back and go to war. The cowardly attack on September 11th guaranteed that America would fight a battle, and warriors who had never been under fire (and some who had) wanted in on it. Why? Is it because they were blood thirsty, violent people? Perhaps some were, but most of them were not then and are not today. But they did not join the military to spend their entire time in comfort and security. If they wanted a 9-to-5 job, they could have worked anywhere. Many of those who joined the military did so because they wanted something more: to answer a higher calling, to sacrifice for an important mission, to make a difference even if at the risk of their lives.
I have never been to war, but I understand from those who have been there that it is not pleasant. People do not sign up to risk their lives because it is fun. They go because it is important, and no matter how great the sacrifices made, injuries suffered, lifetime disabilities incurred, friends lost, horrors witnessed, many of them say they would do it again. They gladly sacrificed to serve a high and noble purpose, but do we not have a much higher and nobler calling than even this?
Darkness seems to be falling on the world around us. I must be careful as a pastor in speculating about our present circumstances, but it is not unreasonable to see a convergence of forces and opposition preparing to make war against the Church, liberty of all kinds, and western civilization itself. What that will mean for our nation, state, local community, congregations, and families remains to be seen. Whatever the second half of this year may hold, whatever recovery of stability and sanity the Lord may allow, we should expect things have changed permanently, and not for the better. We could be very fearful because of this, worrying about the future and what this will mean for our brethren, our children, and the visible Church. Or we can contact the chain of command and confess to our Commander: “I have been slack in my service and content to serve in peacetime, but now I see the danger and need of the hour, and I commit myself to You to be used as You desire to the very last measure.”
No one wants to experience persecution, not really. We may talk tough, but persecution is unpleasant, even when it does not involve physical danger or shedding blood. I have never been beaten for my faith, but I have been lied about, cursed at, and treated with contempt, and that was by brethren in the church. If professing Christians will act in these ways, what should we expect from unbelievers? But how does Scripture speak to us about such times and experiences?
“Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake, For theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
Blessed are you when they revile and persecute you, and say all kinds of evil against you falsely for My sake. Rejoice and be exceedingly glad, for great is your reward in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you.” (Matt. 5:10-12)
Beloved, do not think it strange concerning the fiery trial which is to try you, as though some strange thing happened to you; but rejoice to the extent that you partake of Christ’s sufferings, that when His glory is revealed, you may also be glad with exceeding joy. If you are reproached for the name of Christ, blessed are you, for the Spirit of glory and of God rests upon you. On their part He is blasphemed, but on your part He is glorified. But let none of you suffer as a murderer, a thief, an evildoer, or as a busybody in other people’s matters. Yet if anyone suffers as a Christian, let him not be ashamed, but let him glorify God in this matter. (1Pet. 4:12-16)
And as we stayed many days, a certain prophet named Agabus came down from Judea. When he had come to us, he took Paul’s belt, bound his own hands and feet, and said, “Thus says the Holy Spirit, ‘So shall the Jews at Jerusalem bind the man who owns this belt, and deliver him into the hands of the Gentiles.’ ”
Now when we heard these things, both we and those from that place pleaded with him not to go up to Jerusalem. Then Paul answered, “What do you mean by weeping and breaking my heart? For I am ready not only to be bound, but also to die at Jerusalem for the name of the Lord Jesus.”
So when he would not be persuaded, we ceased, saying, “The will of the Lord be done.” (Acts 21:10-14)
These passages could be multiplied and supported by numerous quotations and accounts from the Church fathers who applied these instructions in their own experience of persecution, suffering, and death at the hands of their tormentors. Persecution is not a pleasant experience to be enjoyed, but it is a privilege to be embraced. Hardships are not easy for the body and mind, but they are valuable and productive for the sanctifying of the soul. God calls some men to glorify him in seasons of peace and prosperity, but should we flinch or turn aside when duty calls us to endure pain, poverty, public censure, or painful abuse?
The men and women who served in our armed forces in peacetime served no less honorably than those who went into battle and risked their limbs and lives in the chaos of war. But we do not tell stories about peacetime. We tell stories about D-Day, the Battle of the Bulge, the Ia Drang Valley, Fallujah, and Ramadi. We tell stories about the suffering and sacrifices of our Christian fathers and mothers: Polycarp, Perpetua and Felicity, John Huss, William Tyndale, John Bunyan, and Jim Elliot. Have we forgotten Hugh Latimer’s words to Nicolas Ridley as the fire was lit at the foot of the stakes to which they were chained? “Be of good cheer, Ridley; and play the man. We shall this day, by God's grace, light up such a candle in England, as I trust, will never be put out.”
It may be unlikely that any of us suffer physical harm from the changes sweeping across our nation, but eventually such persecution will come to the Church in the US as it has in every other place where the gospel has gone. In the meantime, we should gird our hearts with an holy excitement. We are living in the midst of historic and remarkable circumstances, and we are called to serve our Lord with faith, humility, and gratitude, even if in uncertainty, danger, and distress. “If you are reproached for the Name of Christ, blessed are you” (1Pet. 4:14). May God give us hearts to believe and embrace the privilege and sacred duty of confessing Christ in dark places. --JME
