I like to think that if I had not gone into ministry that I might have ended up in the military. I even like to convince myself that I might have even been special forces material....yes, delusions of grandeur, I know. These delusions were quickly shattered when I recently read a book written by a former Navy Seal who was the only survivor left from his Seal Team after a battle in Afghanistan. In the book, the author talks about the training process that Navy Seals have to go through to become a Seal and I realized that....well, I'm a panzy and I wouldn't have made it. The sleep deprivation alone would have caused me to "ring the bell" and give up (not to mention, cry like a girl the entire time).
The author then went on to describe the honor and the privilege that it was for a Seal to be able to wear the Trident badge that is only awarded to those who have come through the fire of Seal Training. He explained that only those who wear the Trident could truly appreciate its meaning and worth.
After listening to a message at our church on Sunday, I realized that the truths in the Bible are very much like the Seal Trident....allow me to explain.
This past week, a church planter spoke at our church. Just after accepting the call to move from Florida to Syracuse, NY to plant a church, He and his wife received very bad news. His wife had been diagnosed with a very aggressive form of cancer and her chances of survival were not good. They decided to follow God's call on their lives anyway and moved to Syracuse. This past summer, she passed away and He was left with four young children and a church in its infancy stage.
As He spoke this past Sunday, I very quickly understood that he knew things about suffering for the cause of Christ that very few do. He spoke from Phillipians 1:18-30 where Paul talks about his hope that God will use his sufferings for the cause of Christ. I have to think that when this church planter reads this passage, he understands the true gravity and depth of what Paul is talking about. He not only knows what it means, but he has experienced, at least in part, what it takes to be able to pen such words. This passage would be his Trident badge. He has walked and is walking through this fire and he is and will come through it victoriously.
it kinda makes me wonder...up to this point in my life, what "badges" of scripture could I wear because I have truly experienced the weight and gravity of their truth?
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1 comment:
So true Benji, I found myself asking the same questions after hearing those wonderful words. I have only recently given myself fully to Christ and I think about my life to this point and what will my story looks like and I pray that it can even be a speck compared to his faith.
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