"Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends." John 15:13

Tomorrow, Monday the 11^th, is Veteran’s Day. Or, as it used to be called, "Remembrance Day." I like to call it "Veteran’s Remembrance Day." Our lesson today will be built around this occasion and some thoughts regarding it. In doing so, I’m going to use a beautifully written article that I recently read and let it lead us into a spiritual application.

The article of which I speak is entitled "The Path Of The Warrior" and, due to it being quite lengthy, I’ll synopsise it here and give you the salient points of it and then draw some spiritual conclusions relative to those points.

The article starts off by reminding us that there are many "callings" in life with which we can choose to involve ourselves. Many "paths" that can be taken. Callings such as teaching, business, medical service, etc. But, one of the most difficult is the "path of the warrior."

William Havard, a military chaplain during WW1 once penned these words: "The greatest glory of a free-born people is to transmit that freedom to their children." It is the warrior who is called on to protect that freedom so that it can be passed on to following generations. It’s the warrior that fights for others in places far from home and family. All the while knowing that it may cost them their life or much pain and suffering.

To be a warrior requires certain qualities, to wit: COURAGE, COMMITMENT & RESILIENCE. It takes COURAGE to face the enemy and the horrors of war. It takes COMMITMENT to leave behind loved ones in order to ensure their safety. And, it takes RESILIENCE to remain focused on the goal of preventing our freedom from being lost.

Some pretty astute person once said, "Politics and opinions flow like the ocean’s tide." I don’t know who that person was, but he/she said a mouthful when they said it. What is meant by that is, that they are always changing, always moving. But, as it applies to our illustration, the "path of the warrior" remains steadfast.

This is where the "resiliency" comes into play. The warrior recognizes the enemy as such and meets him on the field of battle. Even though the warrior is always prepared to meet the enemy and perform his duty, no one wants peace more than the warrior. And the reason for that is because the warrior knows, better than anyone else, the true cost of war.

Gen. Douglas MacArthur once said: "The soldier, above all other people, prays for peace, for he must suffer and bear the deepest wounds and scars of war." To me, that is why we must never fail to pay respects and honor to our veterans.

The warrior knows that freedom has never been free. He knows that the price of freedom has always been paid for by blood. Yet, when the time for battle comes the warrior never flinches from it. It is by and through the actions of the warrior that we enjoy the blessings of liberty and freedom.

The article concluded by dedicating the words and thoughts of it to "the men and women - the warriors - who have fought our wars with honor and courage." The author of the article then closed with this prayer: "May God bless you and keep you safe until you are once more in the arms of your loved ones." I just simply add: AMEN!

Okay, parabolically speaking, let’s lay our spiritual lesson along side the thoughts of the aforementioned article - the "Path Of The Warrior." In doing so, let’s see Christians as warriors and I think the comparisons will be easily seen.

Let me start by reminding you that Christians are the members, the soldiers, of God’s Army. Just like everyone in society, we’ve had or still have, various "callings" in our lives. But, no matter what earthly "path" we’ve followed, we recognize a higher one - our service to God and Christ.

Being in that "Army", we know that sometimes that service can be difficult. That sometimes we have to take our "sword" (Eph. 6:17 the "word of God") and meet the forces of evil in battle. It’s here that the qualities of the "earthly warrior" apply to the "Christian warrior."

We have to have COURAGE to face the enemy, the "wiles of the devil" (Eph. 6:11) in any and all of its various forms. To stand up for Christ when it may not be the popular or safe thing to do. I’m reminded of a hymn we frequently sing entitled: "Stand Up, Stand Up for Jesus" and you’ll recall these words from verse 2: "Let courage rise with danger, And strength to strength oppose."

As to the Christian warrior’s COMMITMENT, we have to be fully committed to the cause of Christ. Be always prepared to follow our "General" and the teachings of His Truth because there is so much untruth surrounding us. In other words, if we’re going to wield the "sword" we’d better know how to use it correctly and to its best effectiveness.

Does the Christian warrior have to have RESILIENCE? Absolutely! We have to remain focused on the Christian’s goal as much as the earthly warriors do on theirs. That goal is, in a nutshell, to save their own soul and as many others as they can. Bible words that tie closely to resilience are "perseverance" and "diligence." In Eph. 6:18 where we’ve just read about the "armor of God" we see that we have to wage our warfare against the devil "with all perseverance." Peter tells us in 2Pet. 1:10 that we have to have "diligence to make our calling and election sure."

Like unto the "politics and opinions" mentioned earlier, there are many false doctrines put in this world by our enemy - Satan. And, like the "tide," they’re constantly changing. Could that be why the Gospel calls them the "winds of doctrine?" (Eph 4:14) In the face of this, the Christian warrior has to remain COURAGEOUS, COMMITTED AND RESILIENT in our duty to Christ.
And, we have to embody these qualities throughout our service period, with that being our death (Rev. 2:10). Only then do we leave the field of battle and are "once more in the arms of our loved ones." And then will come the "peace" that our warrior lives have sought for.

We have to always be prepared, be on guard, to face our greatest enemy, or as God says, our "Adversary." (1Pet. 5:8) Because we know that to lose this spiritual battle is to lose our eternal life, thus, our eternal peace. Remember the price of "freedom" is "blood?" The price of our soul’s "freedom" was the blood shed on the cross by Christ. That He "laid down His life for His friends."

In closing, I’d like to echo the sentiment expressed by the author of "The Path Of The Warrior" and dedicate my thoughts today to all of the faithful "warriors" in God’s Service, in the past and those "warriors" operating on the "front lines" today.

                            "We shall find peace. We shall hear the angels, we shall see the sky sparkling with diamonds." Anton Chekhov
Ron Covey