Verse: Then Jesus said to him, “Put your sword back into its place; for all those who take up the sword shall perish by the sword.” Matthew 26:52
It doesn’t take a very long time into the grunt life that you start to realize you could die. You do not come to this realization only in combat but even in training. The life of someone in the military or police, especially that of combat arms is very dangerous. Even your training has to be realistic to a point, so that makes the risks very high.
I remember the first time I really had to accept in the military that I was “going to die” (obviously I didn’t). We were doing SPIES training which is a special extraction type training where you all hook up to this rope that is hanging from the bottom or side of a helicopter. Everybody straps on and you lift into the sky.
I remember being struck by the beautiful view of the Hawaiian Islands. We could see the ocean and beaches and with the turn of a head see the jungle we just came out of. But that wore off shortly into “Holy Smokes! If I fall, I am a goner!” There was nothing I could do to save my own life. If that harness failed or something on the helicopter, I am just going to fall to my death. I had to pack away the fear and continue with the training and accept it. Most people come to this during live fires or the first time you get shot at. There is nothing you can do about it, you just accept.
At some point to do your job properly you have to accept the fact you are going to die. Before my deployment I wrote letters to my wife, son (I only had one at the time, but when I found out my wife was pregnant while there, I wrote another), and parents incase I died. Once I sealed those envelopes, I was willing to die.
Matthew 10:28-31 says, “And do not fear those who kill the body but are unable to kill the soul; but rather fear Him who is able to destroy both soul and body in hell. Are not two sparrows sold for an assarion? And yet not one of them will fall to the ground apart from your Father. But the very hairs of your head are all numbered. So do not fear; you are more valuable than many sparrows.”
We should not fear death as Christians because we know that our souls are taken care of. Once we accept and believe this great truth, we can enter any situation bold as lions. We can take necessary risks on the battlefield knowing that since our eternity is secure, it is better we die than someone who has not received the Lord and through our sacrifice may do so.
In our verse in Matthew 26 Peter has swung his sword and tried to kill the men who were coming to get Jesus. Jesus gives him a warning that those who live by the sword may very well die from it. It is a risk of the ministry of the sword, which Jesus had not called Peter too. But if you are a combat soldier, you have been called to that ministry, and there is this risk.
Know that God has called you to this job for His purposes. The inherent risk of combat just means you must train harder to stay alive. Death can feel “up to chance” and not make any sense to us. But you have a far better chance of survival the harder you train and train your team (squad/platoon/company/battalion on and on). This risk also shows us that we need to be very intentional about sharing the Gospel with our comrades. Hebrew 9:27, “And inasmuch as it is appointed for men to die once and after this comes judgment.” You only get one chance, don’t be ashamed of the Gospel.
Lastly, you have chosen to follow God’s leading into this ministry that He has for you. Trust him that He will accomplish His goals in your life. Trust Him that He can bring you home from combat or a patrol in a cop car. But also know, that if He chooses you to die to lead your partner to Christ, that your death is worth it. Christ is in control.
By, John Cooper
Godly Grunt 6
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