Waging
the War
By
Eli Tucker
My
dad enjoys studying history and I must confess that I also share a keen interest
in history. I enjoy learning about
previous civilizations and past events but in particular I like studying World
War II.
One
of the things that strikes me is the way the British fought the first two years
of the war practically alone. You
see in less than eight months
Poland
,
Belgium
,
France
, and
Norway
; all allies of
Britain
had not only been defeated but had been occupied by Nazi Germany, and
Italy
. And it was during this time when
it looked like
England
was going to be invaded that Winston Churchill, the British prime minister,
made a statement that at face value is quite desperate but at the same time is
filled with an absolute resolve. On
June 4, 1940 speaking before the British House of Commons Churchill said, “We
shall go on to the end, we shall fight in France, we shall fight on the seas and
oceans, we shall fight with growing confidence and growing strength in the air,
we shall defend our Island, whatever the cost may be, we shall fight on the
beaches, we shall fight on the landing grounds, we shall fight in the fields and
in the streets, we shall fight in the hills; we shall never surrender,”.
For
us in
America
it is very hard to relate to such an outlook.
The last physical battle that took place in this country occurred over
143 years ago. But as Christians the
Bible tells us that we are involved in war for the souls of people.
In 2 Corinthians 10:3-5 Paul says “For though we walk in the flesh, we
do not war according to the flesh. For
the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh, but divinely powerful for the
destruction of fortresses. We are
destroying speculations and every lofty thing raised up against the knowledge of
God, and we are taking every thought captive to the obedience of Christ.”
As Christians we need to have the same drive that was expressed by
Winston Churchill. We need to be
fighting in our homes, our schools, in our work places because if we’re not
fighting in those places then were not doing our part to win the war.
If
you’re thinking this sort of thing isn’t for you, I’m here to tell you,
you don’t have a choice. You
can’t be like the countries of Switzerland and Spain who remained neutral
during the war because in 2 Corinthians 5: 10 Paul makes clear that such an
option does not exist spiritually, “For we must all appear before the judgment
seat of Christ, that each one may be recompensed for his deeds in the body,
according to what he has done, whether for good or evil.”
History tells us that within five years of that speech
Nazi Germany had been utterly defeated but at the time of this speech the
outcome that eventually took placed hardly seemed like a possibility.
The issue was so to speak “in doubt.”
But in the war we are fighting there is no doubt who will win, the issue
has already been decided. The question is, “Have you resolved who’s side you
are on?”
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