Untitled Sermon (6)

In the countries where conscription now prevails, men of certain ages, or certain occupations or physical conditions, are exempted from the service. And when men who have been drafted and have fought in the ranks have been wounded seriously or have been weakened by disease and exposure they are relieved from further military duty. But in this great warfare of life none are exempted from service. All are conscripted and all must serve, nor do the wounds or length of service and gallantry of action permit one to retire. "And there is no discharge in that war." (.) The child that did but yesterday suspire and the nonagenarian are both in the ranks. Some of us are but raw recruits. All we know about the battle is the manual of drill and the mechanism of the guns. Our banner, hit untorn and our uniforms are new and unstained with blood and dirt. But others are in the forefront of the hottest fight, giving and receiving a multitude of wounds and blows, with no thought and no sound but that of war and conflict. Still others are near the end of the fight; they bear the scars of many a conflict, and soon for them will sound the trumpet of release and recall. Yet all are born to the warfare.

But it is a struggle. The beautiful fight. So, let me ask you…is this the way you are approaching life? Do you see that, as a Christian, there is turning back and that you were not meant to hide from this life, but to fully live in this world as we await the new one?

My twins boys recently turned 17 and we were talking about how they only had one more year until they could vote, and one more year until they had to register for the draft! That is what all young men have to do right? We don’t often think about it because the last time it was used was for Vietnam, and we also know the stories of many who were drafted and many who ran from it to avoid serving.

And for those who did get drafted they served until their time was up or they had been wounded seriously or have been weakened by disease and exposure they are relieved from further military duty. But in this great warfare of life none are exempted from service. Indeed, we are all in the fight. We didn’t choose to be born. We were indeed drafted weren’t we?

So, it is time to recognize why we are here and go to battle. Some of us are fighting for the glory of God and others are fighting for the glory of themselves. Who are you fighting for today? How will you fight from here on out?