Prisoners of War

This morning, our pastor, Todd, played the National Guard video (click her to watch), Three Doors Down, Citizen Soldier. He used this video to exemplify Christians as we work to fight to bring Christ to those who don't know Him. A particular part of this video impacted me more than the rest on this particular morning. At one point in the video there is a soldier alone, wounded in a war torn building. He is weak and cannot move or save himself. His fellow soldiers came into the volatile environment to rescue him.

How often do we as Christians see our fellow brothers and sisters in Christ weak and held captive by the lies of Satan and instead of coming along side them, loving them, sharing truth with them, we persecute them. How often do we, as soldiers in the battle against Satan shoot our own prisoners of war? As I write this I am reminded that we don't just reject others. Sometimes as Christians, we justify our lack of action to rescue a brother or sister, justify the sin that holds them captive. We justify a sister's choice of homosexuality because confronting her would be to messy and we are afraid of losing her further. We esteem a brother who lives as a pharisee judging and condemning as he goes because we are to afraid to be caught in the crossfire. Both after all are sins and equally hurt God's work in our lives and in the lives of those around us. We all after all have sin we struggle with that pulls us down, lies Satan has deceived us into believing and we don't even know it. You may think you are ugly or fat. You may think you aren't successful or smart enough, rich enough. You may think you are beautiful and your neighbor is ugly. Maybe your better than your brother because you make more or don't struggle with pornography like he does. We are all prisoners of war. We all need Jesus. How hard it would be but how good if we could go to each other and speak truth regardless of personal consequences.

I am encouraged by Apaphroditus in Philippians because he worked so hard in his ministry serving Paul that he worked himself almost to death. I get weary and my first thought is to plan a weekend at a bed and breakfast. I want to be consumed with the Holy Spirit in me working diligently but only on my occasional three day mission trips. I am the first to admit that every time I step into church, yes there is a hypocrite in church that day. Who I am and who I want to be are more often than not in no way alike. I believe this is the same in every human beings life. So why not as a church and as individuals declare that from the roof tops? Why dress all pretty and pretend to be the perfect people at church only to alienate those who are looking for the real Jesus, not the packaged Jesus?

If I step on any person's toes with these words, then we can hold each other up as we limp along for all my toes are shattered. My face is made muddy by the times I find myself falling flat on my face as pride overtakes me. I, myself, am naturally timid and the desire for acceptance overrides the need for truth. Persecution scares me and I let Satan haul of yet another person, another casualty. I think I want to sugar coat my words to make them more pleasing, maybe a cheerleader's chant to encourage a hoorah of action. No, not today. Today I am real, today I will respect you and tell you the truth, what God has put on my heart, what burns and must be let out. I will not package Jesus.

Your fellow Prisoner of War,
Katie