Attending my oldest daughter’s high school graduation a year ago, I was heartened to learn that 3 of the 41 graduating seniors of her class would be attending the United States Naval Academy. I made a point of
congratulating these three young men on entering the military, though I didn’t feel like, “Congratulations on your military appointment, young man” quite conveyed my feelings.
As a pastor, there are a few things I wish I could say to all those entering the military.
I highlight that I am a pastor, mindful that the heart of my vocation is this: I am a messenger of God’s Word. Francis Schaeffer said, “He is there and He is not silent.” Pastors are charged to make sure we all know what God has said. Since many of our sermons speak about peace, soldiers and sailors may be tempted to think that God has spoken against them. Providence editor Marc LiVecchi told me that a soldier explained his job by saying, “I do evil so that others don’t have to.” Right now, I am preaching on, “Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God.” It would be easy for the sailor, marine, airmen or soldier to think themselves orphans.
That would be a mistake. Military men and women are peacemakers. Sometimes we make peace by talking over a beer. Sometimes we may need to negotiate. At other times, we make peace through the lawful application of military force. God himself resorts to violence, does he not? Romans 16 says “…the God of peace will crush Satan under your feet shortly.” That verse is meant to summarize God’s main action against evil through all history. Satan is pictured as a serpent striking at the heel of humanity, though in the end it will be Satan himself who is crushed. With all of this in mind, and with sympathy for soldiers, we could paraphrase the beatitude as, “Blessed are the soldiers who make peace by force, for they shall look like they’re their father in heaven.”
I have other evidence that God honors a good solider, but I want to move onto a Bible passage, a word about patriotism and finally something of God’s Providence. The Bible verse I have in mind recalls a time of war. It gives insight to soldiers. In the larger context, Joab, Israel’s field commander in 2 Samuel, encountered a complex battlespace with Ammonite forces entrenched at the city gate and Aramean mercenaries flanking the rear. This created—in military language—a potential envelopment, and so Joab wisely split his forces. Some would fight against the Arameans while his brother, Abishai, would engage the Ammonites. Before action, Joab pulled his soldiers close to him, looked them in the eye and said, “Be of good courage, and let us be strong for our people and for the cities of our God. And may the Lord do what is good in His sight” (2 Samuel 10:12).
Joab called them to courage by appealing to their God-given sense of patriotism. Patriotism is the deep sense of devotion we feel toward the communities that formed us. If I stood there before Joab, I would have thought of my grandfather. He grew up in Lothian, a small town in Southern Maryland. It has a traffic circle, fields of high standing stalks of green corn, and they just added a Dunkin’ Donuts. After his service in World War II, He moved 20 minutes north to Annapolis, building a home for my grandmother and their 6 children. My aunts and uncles told me the stories: how Pop-Pop made a deal with J.F. Johnson—who owned a lumber yard—for the materials to build the house; their time at St. Mary’s High school playing lacrosse and football; their adventures on College Creek catching yellow perch, rockfish, pickerel, and Maryland blue crabs. Standing there under Joab’s command, I would hear him, but see the history of my people and our town. In this moment my patriotism would be stirred. I’d be ready to fight.
God has made us all patriots. The affection resides in each of our hearts. I don’t know your people or your town, but I do know that you owe them your remembrance. You need to place local objects of love before your soul. Why? Because that is how you tap into the deep motivational structure which God has designed for you. You will put your life on the line for your country. You need heart to do that. Just ask yourself this question, “When you are in the mud and blood, why will you keep marching?” In your mind’s eye, you better have family photos and old fishing stories. You need to be armed with a way of life for which you are willing to make sacrifices for the next generation.
Finally, Joab reminded his troops of God’s providence. He made sure the platoon knew that the destiny of nations were beyond their control and were held only by the hands of God himself. Soldier’s in the past said: “Duty is ours, events are Gods.” They said this for at least two reasons. Firstly, when they’d look at the natural world around them, they sensed an abiding order and design. They inferred a God who upholds it all. They, secondly, took great comfort seeing themselves and their sacrifices as part of God’s plan for good. All of human history is a song. God composes the score. It lifted their hearts to be the notes in such a tune.
You now take your place on the musical staff with those soldiers. There you are with my grandfather, who landed at Normandy, soldiers commended as “valiant in battle, turning to flight the armies of foreign nations” in the New Testament (Hebrews 11:34), and of course the soldiers fighting for their people and cities with Joab under God’s direction. God through their sacrifices maintained his order upon this earth. One day he will complete it. When the lion finally lays down with the lamb and there are no more tears, you too can say that you played your part.
My daughter and her classmates are one year past their graduation. That means that those in the USNA made it through their first year. They have climbed the Herndon Monument. They are no longer plebes. You, however, are at the start. The song has just begun. It is my prayer that this article would awaken your courage. You have a lot to be encourage about. Think of your homes and your hometowns. Consider your place within God’s divine plans and may the God of peace crush the head of the serpent under your military issued boots. Amen.
