Thoughts of an army wife
Its 143 in the morning and as my family sleeps and my husband continues with his day in Iraq I sit in my bed my mind racing. Thinking of life, love, reenlistment, money problems, and the gift soldiers have to endure situations most will never come close to. I contemplate one question for which I don’t know the answer to. Is being a soldier a God given talent and a God given path or is it a result of mans weakness for evil? I think of Michael the Arch angel who was a warrior. Then I think of the principles I have been taught from the Christian faith. A warrior for Jesus loves those who are your enemy as you love Jesus.
Then Jesus said to him, “Put your sword back into its place. For all who take the sword will perish by the sword. Do you think that I cannot appeal to my Father, and he will at once send me more than twelve legions of angels? But how then should the Scriptures be fulfilled, that it must be so?” Mathew 26:52-54
“You have heard that it was said, ‘An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth.’ But I say to you, Do not resist the one who is evil. But if anyone slaps you on the right cheek, turn to him the other also. Mathew 5:38-39
It would seem from these teachings that God suggests no need for war because the war would be fought with legions of angles therefore man need not take up a sword. In the book of Mathew it goes on to say that an eye for an eye is wrong and a slap on the cheek deserves the surrender of the other cheek to the offender. According to these passages war is unnecessary and in contradiction to the will of God. However there is clear evidence in the bible in favor of war in which God blesses one side and it is because of him that the battle is won.
Though the army of the Syrians had come with few men, the Lord delivered into their hand a very great army, because Judah had forsaken the Lord, the God of their fathers. Thus they executed judgment on Joash.2Chronicles 24:24
A time to love, and a time to hate; a time for war, and
a time for peace. Ecclesiastes 3:8
We see in these two passages that God not only comes to the aid of a beloved son but produces an army for the purpose of killing the enemy. The same enemy that we are supposed to turn the other cheek to and love as we love Jesus. This gift of an army was Gods punishment for being forsaken by Judah. This is another example of confusion in which God is not held to the same standards as we are in relation to love, trust, anger, and retaliation. One could argue that God is teaching Judah a lesson as a parent does a child by spanking them. However this lesson comes with the price of a very high body count. Ecclesiastes states that there is a time for everything including war. If we concede the fact that God makes time for war is it not true today that it is a necessary part of life? And can we infer that God has blessed special men and women for that purpose to handle this allotted time. Just as a person is born with a God given talent such as music, singing, dancing, athleticism, intelligence, inventiveness, kindness, and many other abilities from the time they are born. Can we reasonably say that one of these gifts is warrior, soldier, fighter, and protector? I believe in my heart that my husband was born to be a soldier and I believe God blessed him with the ability to do what few have the courage, strength, and perseverance to do, fight and die by the sword in order to protect what we hold sacred.
WOW!!! I have also wondered about what the bible says about war...thanks so much for sharing this!
GOD BLESS!
Posted by: Melody Ethier | 04/20/2010 at 09:29 PM