It is important to remember the sacrifice of our armed forces, no matter what nation we are. Quaker sensibilities towards pacifism eschews that Christians are called to fight. Jesus when asked by a retinue of Roman soldiers what they should do, He did not say quit the service, “Then some soldiers asked him, “And what should we do?” He replied, “Don’t extort money and don’t accuse people falsely—be content with your pay.” (Luke 3:14). Jesus exhorted those soldiers to be holy soldiers, that is walk in righteousness, He did not tell them go become pacifists. In fact Jesus even told his disciples to arm themselves, “He said to them, “But now if you have a purse, take it, and also a bag; and if you don’t have a sword, sell your cloak and buy one.” (Luke 22:36). So for those advocating removing the right to bear arms, Jesus is not with you.
It was a soldier, a Roman Centurion that Jesus commended as having the greatest faith He had seen, “The Faith of the Centurion
When Jesus had entered Capernaum, a centurion came to him, asking for help. “Lord,” he said, “my servant lies at home paralyzed, suffering terribly.”
Jesus said to him, “Shall I come and heal him?”
The centurion replied, “Lord, I do not deserve to have you come under my roof. But just say the word, and my servant will be healed. For I myself am a man under authority, with soldiers under me. I tell this one, ‘Go,’ and he goes; and that one, ‘Come,’ and he comes. I say to my servant, ‘Do this,’ and he does it.”
When Jesus heard this, he was amazed and said to those following him, “Truly I tell you, I have not found anyone in Israel with such great faith. I say to you that many will come from the east and the west, and will take their places at the feast with Abraham, Isaac and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven. But the subjects of the kingdom will be thrown outside, into the darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.”
Then Jesus said to the centurion, “Go! Let it be done just as you believed it would.” And his servant was healed at that moment.” (Matthew 8:5-13). Again Jesus does not demand this Centurion cease being a soldier, in fact the military system the Roman Officer has he has applied to faith, “I know that if you say it they will be healed, just if I say to soldier go they go and come and they come,” this Jesus said was faith he had not seen in Israel and he commended it! In fact one could argue this milites fide is a great example to follow!
The apostle Paul uses military imagery in our struggle of the spirit, going as far as to describe spiritual arms and armor, “Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. Put on the full armor of God, so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the Lord’s people,” (Ephesians 6:10-18) and saying we are soldiers, “As a good soldier of Christ Jesus, accept your share of the troubles we have. A soldier wants to please his commanding officer, so he does not spend any time on activities that are not a part of his duty. Athletes in a race must obey all the rules to win.” (2 Timothy 3-5). Though he is clear our enemy is not flesh and blood.
Scripture is clear that soldiers can be paragons of faith, and so honoring them during Memorial Day is not antithetical to God’s Words, for Jesus Himself honored The Centurion when he said “I have not seen such great faith like this in all of Israel.” (Matthew 8:10). So honor your troops, they defend your rights, your life, and have taken the burden of great sacrifice to secure liberty and justice. They are not perfect, but no one but Jesus Christ is. Amen.
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