A few years ago, I wrote this paper to remind myself that though the battle against sin is a difficult one, victory will come through the gospel of Jesus Christ. I hope it has the same effect for you.
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This paper is written for the battered hearts and broken souls who live in constant war with the Enemy. It is written for the soldiers who are continually fighting for their life and are continually losing each battle. And it is written for those who have been blinded of the victory that is sure to come. You must know victory is imminent.
With rifles in hand, a band of ten soldiers tread slowly through the bitter, ice-cold river desperately trying not to be spotted by the enemy. Suddenly, a barrage of bullets strikes the water around the soldiers. One finds the back of a poor soldier’s head; a couple others quickly penetrate the back of one man and the chest of another. Hell is closing in upon them. Slowly, but surely, enemy fire destroys the band of ten soldiers. No sooner than three hours after these men left on a mission to destroy an enemy bridge, every single soldier in the original band of ten lies in a river saturated with their own blood. Quietly and unnoticed, a creased picture of one soldier’s wife and daughter floats along with the gentle ripple of the waves. A soldier’s time spent in war is a paradigm to our life spent here on earth.
To a soldier, war is not where his home is found. In the back of his mind, he knows he will not be spending all his life in a war. Before the war, he was home, and after the war is over, he will return home once again. Compared to the years of his life, two years spent in a foreign country fighting for his life is but a brief moment in time. Yet, as he fights, it seems like he will never make it back home. Home for a soldier is back with his wife in a house overflowing with love. All that a soldier is on the battleground is overshadowed by what he becomes when he returns home. A soldier is not meant for a life of war. No matter how brute or rugged this soldier may be, his heart is not satisfied killing and striving to survive day after day after bloody day. A soldier hopes in the home that he is soon to return to. However, a soldier has an enemy that would rather see him dead anywhere than home, alive, somewhere. This enemy will stop at nothing to keep him from leaving this war alive. There will be injuries, and the injuries will heal with time. But, unfortunately, there will be death. Many soldiers will die. And the sad part of the story is that once they are dead, there is no coming back, there is no returning home. The soldier will die without ever stepping foot in his beloved home again. This isn’t how it has to end.
To a man, earth is not where his home is found. Somewhere in the depths of his heart, he knows that he won’t be spending eternity in this evil place. In the beginning, he was home, and after his war on earth is over, he will be going back home again. Compared to eternity, life on earth is but a breath, a swooshing of the wind. Yet, while he is here, it seems like eternity. Home for man is up with his Heavenly Father in a place full of love, glory, celebration, and goodness, a place that his Lord has been preparing for him in anticipation of his return. All that a man is is overshadowed by what he will become and where he will be going. Man is not meant for life on this earth. No matter how sinful he might be, eternity has been set in his heart (Ecc. 3:11). Man hopes for a heaven that is soon to come. But just like a war, man has an enemy that does not want him to return home. He will stop at nothing to keep us from an eternity spent in Heaven. The Enemy will try everything – arrows of fury, bullets containing lies, bombs encompassing temptations. And believe me, there will be injuries, there will be death. He will slay thousands upon thousands of men burying them in deceptions of worthlessness. Fortunately, this is not where this story ends. As much as the Enemy wants to see men dead and not in Heaven, there is a Savior who longs to see man alive, restored and renewed, and ready to come Home. This Savior has conquered death, and He wants to do the same for all mankind. The Resurrection was not just a proof that Christ was fully God but also a statement that the Enemy and death had no power over Him. This Savior offers man the same power. He offers man full restoration of his wounds, renewal of his spiritually dead life, power to destroy the Enemy, and a free ticket home. We, as men and women in Christ, are not burdened with a life that is impossible to live but are given the opportunity to live a life holy and separated from the destructive possibilities of the Enemy. We will be going home soon. I’m ready for a home where I am free to look my Savior in the eyes, bow at His feet, and give Him praise without having to check my back to make sure the Enemy isn’t plotting to stab me there.
Just when the enemy thought they had annihilated the entire band of soldiers, a hand rises from the bloody water and grabs the picture of his wife and daughter. Slowly, the soldier emerges from the river with rifle in hand and picture tucked away. The fatal wounds he received from enemy fire only moments earlier have been completely healed and restored. In all of their triumph, the other nine soldiers surface from the blood-stained water. The soldier who had his face all but destroyed from an enemy bullet smirks and then smiles with his freshly restored face. All of their wounds have disappeared. No scars, only perfect, new flesh. As the band of ten soldiers quietly walks from their supposed grave, they leave restored and renewed on a mission to destroy the enemy bridge. After it is all over, and they have fought the good fight, each man will be returning home where he can embrace his wife and love his children for the rest of his glorious life.
My dearest soldiers, you must know that this victory is available to you. Micah 7:8 says, “Do not gloat over me, my enemy! Though I have fallen, I will rise. Though I sit in darkness, the Lord will be my light.” Listen to what the prophet Micah says. You will rise! Your wounds will be no more, and your scars will vanish. You will rise from the bloody river with new, redemptive life given to you from Jesus Christ through the power of His Resurrection. Hear Romans 6:9, 11. “For we know that since Christ was raised from the dead, he cannot die again; death no longer has mastery over him. In the same way, count yourselves dead to sin but alive to God in Christ Jesus.” Satan thought he could destroy Jesus by death on a cross. He was wrong. And Satan thinks that he can destroy you by killing your soul. He is wrong. Jesus Christ has a hold on your soul, and he won’t let go. By God’s mercy, love, sacrifice, and resurrection, spiritual death holds no power over you. So put on your armor, pick up your weapon, and rise. You are going home soon.
