War Wounds
‘From henceforth let no man trouble me: for I bear in my body the marks of the Lord Jesus.’ (Gal 6:17)
Not only are these wounds of Paul a symbol of loyalty to his God, they are an open display of his service.
Consistently Paul seemed to have to put up with false teachings trying to cast down his labours and smear his name. However, these scars speak for his defence in the cause of Christ with more force than any words could muster.
We too need to cultivate war wounds.
Christian Service
In the book of Numbers God gives instructions through Moses regarding the people’s service:
‘From thirty years old and upward even until fifty years old, all that enter into the host, to do the work in the tabernacle of the congregation.’ (Numbers 4:3)
This is relating the office of service to that of an army. In the original Hebrew ‘to do the work’ is to ‘war the warfare’. The Lord is shining a bright light on how he views the service of a believer; as a soldier.
The Christian life is a fight of faith. This present life is one of continued warfare.
‘Thou therefore endure hardness, as a good soldier of Jesus Christ. No man that warreth entangleth himself with the affairs of this life; that he may please him who hath chosen him to be a soldier.’ (2 Tim 2:3-4).
I fear much of the contemporary church has forgotten this solemn fact, or perhaps many have turned their eyes from this truth deliberately, not wanting to cope with the reality set before them. We have become far too entangled in the affairs of this life. Why? Well, it is easier to lounge than it is to war, especially in the midst of prosperity.
Atmosphere of War
Times of war are different from times of peace and prosperity. Imagine the atmosphere and the air of the nations in the midst of World War II.
There is a sense of urgency, and of intensity in life during the midst of war. Every person bands together for the greater good, with the sense that we need to actively draw together our resources, lay aside our differences and focus on the war. Suddenly trivial things drop away, and we find ourselves in a life of deeper urgency and importance than we could have imagined. Each day is a matter of life and death, each moment with potential consequence. There is an immediacy, an expectancy and a deep seated motivation.
If this is the atmosphere of a nation during natural warfare, how much more should the cosmic war be ever present before our minds?
Christians are soldiers in a war, a fight of cosmic proportions over life and death of more than just the body, but the soul. The stakes of our warfare are far greater than that of any natural war. Let us rouse the church from her slumber, and throw away the kids games and frivolity. The church needs a renewed sense of WAR more than anything else these days.
Preparation
The King is building his army and he is taking recruits from anywhere. The church is not to be looking for a hidden rapture, she is to be looking for a cosmic confrontation. I am afraid too much of the church is untaught and unprepared for what will be coming.
Only God can save, but how many truly believe and are prepared for situations knowing that salvation from only God’s hand is a reality in our day to day life? How dependent upon God for deliverance are we? Do we cry out daily? Or do we get by just fine? If our hearts have not been sufficiently prepared by a true faith that is willing to defy death itself, then we are going to be in a place of shock when we are confronted by what is to come.
Times of prosperity are not times for lounging, they are times of preparation and strategizing, of cultivating and growing.
If we do not prepare now, we will find ourselves naked in the time of trial! We have too long swept under the rug, that which is coming, and have instead opted to maintain the status quo.
The mindset of Babylon has crept in and pride has filled the nations.
The greatest problem is most don’t see the urgency of the hour, and so many that are being awakened to it are seeking solutions in humanistic methods.
The Answer
The only answer is true God sent awakening.
An awakening of all to the conscious reality of God and the circumstances we find ourselves in. To be aware of God and to be aware of the pressing reality of eternity lying at the doorstep. This is not a peddling of doom and gloom, rather it is a rallying cry for war.
Where is the prayer, the desperation, the holy warfare? Where is the Apostolic breathing that was felt throughout the early Christians? The answer is not found in the white house, no politician will fix the nation, the answer is found on our knees and faces, weeping and groaning before God.
The Church has been invaded with gentle preaching. Preaching that is intended to soothe consciences that have been awakened by God. Most preaching is focused on getting your mind off that which God would have you focused on. Where is the awakening, the shaking, the piercing of the heart? The drive to love and give yourself for the cause of Christ must be the motivation of your life. The King and his cause are intrinsically linked, you can’t have one without the other.
Too many of us are seeking solace in the world, but our Kingdom is not of this world, for if it were we would fight for this world. Throw off the worldly entanglements and seek the holy war. Prepare, discipline and labour yourself for the cause of our Heavenly King.
The solution is for us to follow the path of Christ and his sufferings.
Embrace the pain, do not shy away from the cross.
As Jesus said ‘If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow me.’ (Luke 9:23).
Holy Example
Paul was our example of a cross following man. He saw his marks as vindicating his whole life, his whole being. He pointed to them as badges of honour, decorations of his service for the king. His scars were a visible witness to his well fought battle against his foes. His Christian warfare had been so dramatic that it had extended into the natural realm. He had endured such sufferings and hardships as a soldier of Christ. And this is to be our example.
Those external wounds of Paul were a show of his love, the holy zeal that was inflamed within him. The fruit of his faith. The love of Christ had produced in him the sufferings of Christ. A faithful warrior for his commander.
It is worth thinking about the scarred and marred body of this small religious scribe from his wrestling and warring with lions and the world. Each scar tells a story, and each story points to the Gospel. We know that God is more concerned with the internal than the external, therefore imagine the internal scars that this Apostle met with. Trial, tribulation and tumult to the point of despairing to death.
And through all this what is the lesson Paul learnt?
That in all this to not trust in himself, but in the God who raises the dead. That is a title for God, the God of the living, the God of the resurrection, the God who raises the dead. It is a view that Paul himself constantly had of God. Ever before him was the promise and hope of the resurrection of the dead.
And therefore he found himself dying daily.
As a result, God supplied him with the resurrection life. Death to self leads to the life of God. We must come to the end of the ability of man and what is possible in our own natural strength, we must be at the point of despairing unto death, in order to see the God of the living raise us into his resurrection power. We need the wounds of death that the fragrance of eternal life may ascend out of us.
The Pattern of Suffering
The life of Paul is not just a story of a preacher, it is the Gospel message being lived in a person, the life of Christ manifested in the earthen vessel. This is Christ setting forth to us an object lesson for all believers. The Apostle was a pattern not just for some select few, but rather a display of what all believers must face as it is written ‘If we suffer, we shall also reign with him’ (2 Tim 2:12). This does not necessarily need to come in the form of outward harm to the body, but certainly we need to be following the path of suffering and trial; this is the path of the cross.
Though Paul was a holy example of man, he was but a man and knowing this he described himself as ‘nothing’. What an indictment on you and me! If Paul is nothing, then I am less than nothing! But he recognised the truth that there is only one good; that is God. Every man is but nothing. There is only the one perfect man; our glorious saviour.
Therefore let us think of the Lord Jesus himself; his infinitely valuable wounds and sufferings. No wounds of man may compare to the sufferings of the Lord Jesus. His wounds are the life of the world, the salvation of our souls, the seal of his perfect love. Let us embrace his wounds and kiss the scars, suffering gladly with him in his pain and reproaching the ‘riches’ of this world.
Our Lord Jesus is the one who has won this war, and the scars on his resurrected body of glory are a testament for eternity of his great victory. If we desire to be conformed to the image of our God, then we would be incomplete without the wounds of war, the scars of victory.
It is by the cross that we overcome, and the cross will always leave its scars.
