Week 48 2013 Battlegrounds

We visited several battlegrounds this summer, both Revolutionary War and Civil War.  Gettysburg, Antietam, Harpers Ferry, Fredericksburg, Manassas, just to name a few, are sites where thousands of men lost their lives fighting for a cause for which they believed had value, a cause worth sacrifice.  One is humbled by the sheer enormity of life lost on these fields.  In virtually every battle, nearly every soldier believed that God was on his side, believed that He would bless their troops with success.  There were prayers to the same God in every camp site.  Chaplains, serving the same God, held services for troops on both sides of the line.  Churches in both camps held prayer meetings for their boys gone off to war, believing they were fighting for the cause of Christ.

The same could be said about most every war over the centuries.  So, what shall we conclude?  Was the losing side deluded?  Or, were both sides confused?  Who is to say that one side was closer to God than the other?  I’m not really sure I have the answers to these questions.  Furthermore, I’m not sure that anyone else does either.  I am sure of one thing.  God stands ready to bless any who put their complete faith and trust in Him.  This doesn’t mean that He will fight and win our battles.  It does mean, however, that He will be with us through those battles, regardless of the side we have pledged our allegiance.

These are battlegrounds where flesh and blood are destroyed.  There are other battlegrounds where spirit and soul are sacrificed.  These are battles with eternal consequences.  When engaged in these struggles there is a clear separation of right and wrong, good and evil, God and Satan.  Unfortunately, there are untold millions lost in this war.  Our weapons are those provided by the Lord.  They are powerful and able to take out the evil Satan wields with great expertise.  The battlegrounds are all around us.  We can be fighting these battles on the streets where the homeless and hopeless reside, or in our church buildings where the wheat and tares await the winnowing that will take place in that great judgement day.  The weapons are the same, regardless of the battleground.  The Lord provides these gifts abundantly to any who are willing to use them to His glory.  The Apostle Paul tells us that the greatest of these are faith, hope, and love, with love trumping all of them.  If we will let these be our weapons of choice, refining our ability to wield them, we will be victorious, and we can rest assured that God is truly on our side!