My reflections from Sunday

At 8:05 pm on Saturday night, in 91 degree heat, with sweat dripping from their foreheads, 10 warriors stepped onto a "battlefield" to test themselves against one another, against a clock, and against themselves.  They all knew they would hurt terribly, they all  knew they would finish their "war" in a different place, mentally and physically, than when they started.  In the end, they laid on the ground, exhausted and totally spent, gasping for air and fatigued, but each victorious in some personal way. Each warrior had accepted the challenge, each warrior had fought the battle without hesitation, and each warrior would ultimately be better for accepting this challenge.

Warrior:  the very name invokes a sense of awe.  Warriors come from all classes of life and they conquer all sorts of foes, just like the track warriors I mentioned above.  Athletics can inspire us and challenge us and help us to prepare for "real" life.  In the real world, warriors care little for their own lives, always putting themselves on the line to enact the liberties of another.  They don’t share common ancestries, but they share a common heart, one that will never be satisfied with the sidelines of life.  The game inspires them, and they would rather be bloodied on the fields of battle than to have no scars in eternity.

It is my conviction that God created each of us with the heart of a warrior.  You might not have realized it yet, but it is there nonetheless.  Life is a battlefield, and battlefields are not ordained for the weak of heart, and yet you have been Divinely placed in the midst of the battle.  That’s no mistake.

I have heard people say that God needs warriors, something I take issue with.  Let’s get real.  How big is God?  Do you think He is intimidated or frustrated by the demons, devils, and human enemies who rage against His throne?  Do you think He could not in a millisecond speak each and every one of them out of existence?  Sure He could.

If that be the case, then why does He call us into the battle and place us on the battlefield?  It’s because He knows we need to be warriors.  He knows it’s a terrible thing to live without a story and to die without scars.  He knows it is better to die for something than to live for nothing.  He knows how He designed us, and He knows that each of us have the capacity to take the battle to the enemy, and He knows that with His Divine aid, each of us will experience victory.

Victor:  How would you like to be at the roll call of faith with medals on your chest and tassels on your shoulder?  How would you like to be rewarded above for your ventures below?  I don’t know about you, but there’s something about me that wants to go up and hug the men and women of life with a chest full of medals.  Why should eternity be different?

We are called of God to be warriors, strengthened and equipped by God for the call, and ordained by God to accomplish the calling.  We need to get in the fight.  Politically, I can't remember the last true victory by the Right.   If you ask me the same of the Left, I believe I could express hundreds of things.  Is that how we want to be remembered, as a people who were forced into the sea?

I for one want to have the guts and stamina and courage to stand.  I no longer want to accept a defensive posture as the posture of a warrior.  I want to pick up sword, shield, bow, and whatever else heaven places at my disposal, and I, like David, want to run onto the battlefield to kill the bellowing giants who would dare defy the armies of the living God. 

I pray I have enough warrior in me to run to the battlefield and I hope you will join me in the fight.