Gentleman Soldiers

Gentleman Soldiers

“Stand firm in one spirit, contending as
one man for the faith of the gospel.”
                                      Philippians 1:27

Being familiar with such terms as boot camp, enlistment, orders and deployment, terms associated with our current military forces, the men who fought in America’s war for independence might be hard to recognize as soldiers. Corn, cotton, wheat and tobacco farmers, bankers, builders and businessmen, traders, servants and statesmen, they came from all walks of life to fight for the freedoms  that had first drawn them across the ocean to this new land. And fight they did, defeating a far better trained and equipped British army.

Those loyal British troops were following orders; they were dedicated and loyal to the nation that had commissioned them to this battle, and they certainly did their best on the battlefield. But the poorly equipped and barely trained army they were facing had a distinct advantage. And lest we be fooled, it wasn’t their superior knowledge of the terrain they were fighting on, or their being more accustomed to the harsh weather conditions found in America. Their advantage was that they had a cause worth fighting for and worth dying for. They said goodbye to wives and children, family and friends to go off to fight for freedoms that had been obtained at great cost. They knew that the risk of not returning was all too real but they saw the risk of losing their freedoms, including the freedom to worship as they chose, as far greater.

In much the same way, God is looking for men and women, ordinary men and women from all walks of life, who will take up their swords and begin to fight for the cause of Christ, to contend as one for the faith of the gospel. When I think of the farmer who left his fields to take up arms against the British troops, I think of the factory worker, the housewife, the businessman, the teacher, the nurse and many more in similar positions who realize that we are in a battle and that the faith that has been delivered to us is desperate for those who will fight for its truth. Generations to come depend on our response to the challenge set before us. Complacency will not get the job done; leaving the job to the professionals is not enough. The Christian faith our nation was founded on faces a different enemy but with the same goal, to rob us of our passion and our freedom to worship as we choose. May we have the same willingness to fight, to lay our lives down, and to take up our crosses to see God glorified and honored in our nation.

God Bless,
Pastor Joe
Gateway Church