During the Vietnam conflict, the war of my day, I recall long sessions of conversations over coffee discussing the morality of war, and the obligations of men to defend others, blah, blah, blah. When I got the "Greetings" letter, things began to change and refocus. I asked my draft board for classification as a conscientious objector, knowing that the Viet Cong were not invading Minnesota... yet.
But I did go into the army rather than run or go to jail, and was sent to Viet nam. Still, I did not carry a rifle and no one gave me grief about that- as a medic I was able to carry more medical supplies in place of the weapon and ammo.
But to make this story closer to the topic, there came a day when I was in a very intense firefight, and suddenly my life and the other men with me were in real danger. I was being shot at, and though I had nothing personal against the people shooting at me I found myself very willing to shoot and kill them. For several long minutes I was lying on the ground in a jungle 13,000 miles from home, holding an M-16 set to full automatic, looking for a head to blow off while the sergeant (whose gun this was) crawled out in front of me to pull a man to safety.
Things come down to immediate concern, sometimes to a split-second decision, to a situation you never really saw coming. You will act on instinct, use what you have, do what needs to be done- whether you are "prayed-up" or not.
Right now we are watching things unfold, hopefully with enough wisdom to pray Godly energy into whatever God is doing among the worldwide scatter of men. Ukraine is on the brink, Syria is a cauldron of violence, Iran will soon be an aggressive nuclear power, North Korea is ready to go way out of control, Afghanistan is falling back under crazy Taliban control, on and on. We can't physically stop any of it, but our prayers are instantaneous to the good of those who are called into God's purposes.
My feeling is a little like the strange way Jesus told the disciples to get a sword. Peter said, "OK, I got one!"
Jesus said it was enough. No further instructions of what to do with it, and no record that the sword served a major purpose in building the early church.
So also today- "Got an AR-15?" Good. It is enough.
If there is a time in the future when it is appropriate to use in a Godly way, you will be ready. But call number one is prayer where real power comes to meet and defeat the powers of darkness. _________________ Tom Cameron
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