Veterans Day

In many churches, just like ours, there stand two fags—the American Flag and the Christian Flag. These two fags represent two types of freedom. One is a freedom that allows us to go where we want to go, say what we want to say, to live where we want to live, to dream big dreams and pursue them.

Someone once wrote:

It is the veteran, not the reporter, who has given us freedom of the press.

It is the veteran, not the poet, who has given us freedom of speech.

It is the veteran, not the campus organizer, who has given us freedom to assemble.

It is the veteran, not the politician, who has given us the right to vote.

It is the veteran, not the preacher, who has given us freedom of religion.

Veterans over the centuries have sacrificed so much to obtain and preserve this precious freedom—which also includes the God-given right to worship our Creator anytime anywhere.

That leads us to the other type of freedom, represented by the Christian Flag—a superior freedom found in Christ. That leads us to the other type of freedom, represented by the Christian Flag—a greater freedom that can only be found in Christ, who died as a ransom to set us free. This is a freedom from a life of futility, freedom from the tyranny of sin, regret, hate, and bitterness. It’s the freedom to love God and love our neighbor.

enlist

Paul enlisted into service of Jesus on the road to Damascus where he encountered Jesus from that time on he was a dedicated soldier of Christ. He was a veteran of the christian life. He was stoned, imprisioned. It was while he was imprisoned knowing the he would soon die, he wrote the following words to Timothy

endure

2 Timothy 2:3 CSB

3 Share in suffering as a good soldier of Christ Jesus.

in other words, endure as a soldier would endure. Accept this time not for your country but for your lord and savior Jesus Christ.

The next thing we know a soldier must do is be prepared to engage the enemy.

engage

General Sherman once said, “You don’t know the horrible aspects of war. I’ve been through two wars and I know. I’ve seen cities and homes in ashes. I’ve seen thousands of men lying on the ground, their dead faces looking up at the skies. I tell you, war is hell!”

While I’ve never experienced the horrible aspects of war, I have great respect for those who have been engaged in war. Even those service men and women who were blessed to serve during peacetime, however, must still be prepared to engage the enemy. Through training exercises and combat practice they stay sharp and vigilant, always prepared for battle.

As Christians we need to do the same. As Paul explains,

2 Corinthians 10:4–5 CSB

4 since the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh, but are powerful through God for the demolition of strongholds. We demolish arguments 5 and every proud thing that is raised up against the knowledge of God, and we take every thought captive to obey Christ.

In other words, as good soldiers of Jesus Christ, we have to be prepared to engage in spiritual warfare.

We battle temptation. We stand opposed to false religions and worldviews that are hostile toward Christianity not through weapons of warfare but through the preaching and teaching of the truth of God’s word.

We are called to defend our faith with reason and precision. We can’t be afraid to stand up for Jesus either in the public square or in our personal relationships. God is counting on us to “takes captives,” which means surrendering our own thought and beliefs to Christ, but also leading other to do the same—with gentleness and respect. See in the Lord’s Army, we don’t kill our enemies; rather, we make them our allies.

And in the Lord’s Army, we aren’t fighting alone. Just as soldiers in a squad, platoon or company, depend on each other, Christians rely on our church family to support us and stand beside us. Even more, we have God on our side.

entangle

2 Timothy 2:4 CSB

4 No one serving as a soldier gets entangled in the concerns of civilian life; he seeks to please the commanding officer.

I read about a new recruit, shortly after joining the Navy, who asked his officer for a pass so he could attend a wedding. The officer gave him the pass, but informed the young man he would have to be back by 7 p.m. Sunday. “You don’t understand, sir,” said the recruit. “I’m in the wedding.”

“No, you don’t understand,” the officer shot back. “You’re in the Navy!”

When you serve this (American) flag, you are expected to be completely committed to your country and to allow nothing to prevent you from performing your duties and serving faithfully.

When you serve this (Christian) flag, you are also expected to be completely committed to Christ and His Kingdom. You are expected to serve Him faithfully, not allowing anything to keep you from doing His will.

Unfortunately, countless Christians, after coming to Christ in faith, do get entangled in the affairs of this world. They let other things become more important to them than Jesus. In fact, Jesus told a story about that very thing. He talked about a farmer who scattered seed everywhere he went. Then Jesus said, “The seeds that fell among the thorns represent those who hear the message, but all too quickly the message is crowded out by the cares and riches and pleasures of this life. And so they never grow into maturity” (Luke 8:14 NLT).

We need to be careful about the things we let distract us from Jesus. As Paul has said elsewhere, “Yes, everything else is worthless when compared with the infinite value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For

his sake I have discarded everything else, counting it all as garbage, so that I could gain Christ” (Philippians 3:8 NLT).

Conclusion

As I said before, there are two types of freedom—embodied in two flags. We want to say many thanks to the Veterans who have served to preserve our political freedoms, which allow us to freely worship our Creator who gives us that greater freedom we all so desperately need.