Galatians 6:17
I recently had the privilege of attending the Our Generation Summit in Pigeon Forge, Tennessee. The theme for this year's conference was "Equip for Battle". As part of the decor, the Our Generation team had included a piece of a U.S. Army dress uniform, a jacket. Although the jacket really didn't figure in the program, as a former G.I. it caught my attention. After looking it over for a while, I turned to my wife and told her, "The guy that owns that coat is a man!"
You see, that coat belonged to a soldier. You knew it was a soldier because of the way it was arranged. A civilian would never have gotten the all that stuff right. It took a soldier to put everything in its proper place, and believe me, everything was in its proper place.
Not only was everything in place, the things that were on that coat told you a great deal about the man. First, he was a staff sergeant. That alone is significant. Soldiers don't make staff sergeant on their first enlistment. This guy had been around a little while. Given the opportunity to opt out, having served his time, he chose to go around again, at least one more time and maybe more. The hash marks on his sleeve indicated he had been a soldier for at least twelve years. A man that would re-up in wartime is a man that can be counted on when it gets hard, the kind of guy I want beside me, a man.
Next, the blue cord wrapped around his shoulder and the crossed rifles on the collar belonged to an infantryman. Combat arms, ground pounder, line doggie. The most inglorious position in the whole army, and the most indispensable. No matter how many planes, artillery pieces or tanks you've got, eventually an infantryman is going to have to take the ground. Theirs is the dirty work, house to house and room to room, face to face with an enemy that knows it's kill or be killed, live or die. They call them grunts in derision, but you can't fight a war without them. By the way, our staff sergeant was not only a grunt, he was a good one. On his left pocket he wore an expert marksman badge along with one showing he had finished air assault school.
Our staff sergeant was also a decorated soldier. I've been out too long to recognize all the ribbons, and some of them were unit citations. But not all. On one sleeve, the hash marks witnessed to at least three combat tours. Our boy had certainly seen enough combat to earn a Combat Infantry Badge along with the other ribbons. They give those to soldiers who have served in wartime. This man knows what it means to dodge bullets.
I could go on, but I think you get the picture. I could see enough on the uniform to know I would have been proud to meet this man and shake his hand. His qualifications were written all over him. He was a soldier. In 2 Timothy 2:3-4, the Bible talks of the Christian as chosen to be a soldier. The Holy Spirit wrote those words through the Apostle Paul, one who knew what it meant to be a soldier of Jesus Christ. And it was Paul, the combat weary infantryman, who wrote the words at the beginning of this text, "From henceforth let no man trouble me, for I bear in my body the marks of the Lord Jesus Christ (Gal. 6:17)." Anyone who met Paul could tell he had served his time. The marks on his body, like the uniform on that soldier, told the tale.
Christian friend of mine, do you bear the marks of the Lord Jesus Christ? Is the impact of living for Him clearly recognizable in your life? The thought brings to mind a dear pastor friend who has labored long and hard in the battle for the Lord. He carries his testimony everywhere, a patient and gentle warrior, truly humble, quick to tears. It doesn't require much time in his presence to see that he is a soldier who has spent much in the service of His Lord Jesus. One day, I hope it will be just as evident in me and you.
Just a servant,
Bro. Tom
I recently had the privilege of attending the Our Generation Summit in Pigeon Forge, Tennessee. The theme for this year's conference was "Equip for Battle". As part of the decor, the Our Generation team had included a piece of a U.S. Army dress uniform, a jacket. Although the jacket really didn't figure in the program, as a former G.I. it caught my attention. After looking it over for a while, I turned to my wife and told her, "The guy that owns that coat is a man!"
You see, that coat belonged to a soldier. You knew it was a soldier because of the way it was arranged. A civilian would never have gotten the all that stuff right. It took a soldier to put everything in its proper place, and believe me, everything was in its proper place.
Not only was everything in place, the things that were on that coat told you a great deal about the man. First, he was a staff sergeant. That alone is significant. Soldiers don't make staff sergeant on their first enlistment. This guy had been around a little while. Given the opportunity to opt out, having served his time, he chose to go around again, at least one more time and maybe more. The hash marks on his sleeve indicated he had been a soldier for at least twelve years. A man that would re-up in wartime is a man that can be counted on when it gets hard, the kind of guy I want beside me, a man.
Next, the blue cord wrapped around his shoulder and the crossed rifles on the collar belonged to an infantryman. Combat arms, ground pounder, line doggie. The most inglorious position in the whole army, and the most indispensable. No matter how many planes, artillery pieces or tanks you've got, eventually an infantryman is going to have to take the ground. Theirs is the dirty work, house to house and room to room, face to face with an enemy that knows it's kill or be killed, live or die. They call them grunts in derision, but you can't fight a war without them. By the way, our staff sergeant was not only a grunt, he was a good one. On his left pocket he wore an expert marksman badge along with one showing he had finished air assault school.
Our staff sergeant was also a decorated soldier. I've been out too long to recognize all the ribbons, and some of them were unit citations. But not all. On one sleeve, the hash marks witnessed to at least three combat tours. Our boy had certainly seen enough combat to earn a Combat Infantry Badge along with the other ribbons. They give those to soldiers who have served in wartime. This man knows what it means to dodge bullets.
I could go on, but I think you get the picture. I could see enough on the uniform to know I would have been proud to meet this man and shake his hand. His qualifications were written all over him. He was a soldier. In 2 Timothy 2:3-4, the Bible talks of the Christian as chosen to be a soldier. The Holy Spirit wrote those words through the Apostle Paul, one who knew what it meant to be a soldier of Jesus Christ. And it was Paul, the combat weary infantryman, who wrote the words at the beginning of this text, "From henceforth let no man trouble me, for I bear in my body the marks of the Lord Jesus Christ (Gal. 6:17)." Anyone who met Paul could tell he had served his time. The marks on his body, like the uniform on that soldier, told the tale.
Christian friend of mine, do you bear the marks of the Lord Jesus Christ? Is the impact of living for Him clearly recognizable in your life? The thought brings to mind a dear pastor friend who has labored long and hard in the battle for the Lord. He carries his testimony everywhere, a patient and gentle warrior, truly humble, quick to tears. It doesn't require much time in his presence to see that he is a soldier who has spent much in the service of His Lord Jesus. One day, I hope it will be just as evident in me and you.
Just a servant,
Bro. Tom
