Wounded Soldier (Day 1 from Letters to a Friend)

 

Wounded Soldier 

   Today while driving home I was listening to a CD by Dennis Jernigan, THIS IS MY DESTINY; the song that was playing at the time was WOUNDED SOLDIER, it reminded me of a trip I took several years ago to Washington DC. I had gone for a woman’s conference, and we had taken the day to see sights around the city. I remember that day well; one of the sights we visited was Arlington Cemetery, it was a humbling experience I will never forget.

   I watched the changing of the guards at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, there is so much ritual involved both at the tomb and in the lives of the men that have volunteered for this duty. Even though their service is for two years they make a lifetime commitment. I also saw the eternal flame and temporary gravesite that was put in place for President Kennedy’s state funeral just three days after his assassination. I did not know there were two Kennedy infants interred there as well. I was only a teenager when he was assassinated, I was sitting in Mr. Moss’s history class when it came over the intercom, we were told the school would be closing and we were to go to our buses. The halls were full of students, but no one was talking. It was the same on the bus ride home, silence. We watched the news in silence when Lee Harvey Oswalt, the man who had assassinated our President was shot on national TV. The memories are something that will forever be burned in my memory.

   I stepped aside to a place where I could stand alone as I felt a quickening in my spirit; in front of me was a sea of white crosses, marking those who had fallen.  As I was standing there looking at the endless rows of white crosses, lined up as if they were soldiers in formation, I could see the ground covered in the bright red blood of the fallen. It was of no importance what branch of the military they fought in, or what rank they held. The color of their skin didn’t make a difference, it was all red. No matter what their religious beliefs were or even if they didn’t believe they all made the ultimate sacrifice. All that mattered was they stood together in battle, brothers in arms. So many lives lost. So much bloodshed, all in the name of freedom.

   I remember thinking, as I stood there seeing in my mind all that blood, how devastating war was, and I could almost hear the families weeping, yet as I looked across this sea of graves I was reminded of the words of Jesus: “You will hear of war and rumors of wars. See that you are not troubled; for all these things must come to pass, but the end is not yet. For nation will rise up against nation, and kingdom against kingdom . . . “ These words were spoken to the disciples concerning the end times before the second coming of Christ. However, before that day a great battle would be fought in the Jezreel Valley at a place called Megiddo, in Hebrew Armageddon. Scripture tells us that the fierceness of it will be equal to nothing we have seen in wars past. As the image of blood covering the ground of these fallen soldiers was brought to my memory, I was reminded that the Word tells us that the bloodshed in that battle will be to the horse's bridles. This final battle, thou fought in the natural, is a spiritual one between the forces of good and evil.

   I have stood on the top on Mount Megiddo, which has become a symbol of war, and looked in awe across this fertile valley, knowing that one-day that battle would be fought. All the while knowing before that day comes we, as Christians, are in a constant battle between the forces of good and evil. For the Word of God tells us: “We do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places.” The name of the battle is called—intercession. You and I must, as Christians, intercede for the loss of this world. It does not matter if they are family members, friends, or neighbors. It does not matter if it is for our nation, or on the mission field, we must enter into spiritual warfare on their behalf.