On August 29th of this year, I sat transfixed to the television during the dignified transfer of the 13 service men and women coming home from Afghanistan. Dover AFB had witnessed this scene countless times throughout the years. I can’t really say why, but for whatever reason, my emotions on that day were stronger and closer to the surface than I expected them to be. It was as if a parable was being told with every slow processional from the plane to the transport vehicle. Every movement of the carry teams seemed to mean something.
As I reflect on this even days later, it seems to me that everything that was done that day was right. It was right for us to honor their sacrifice. It was right for us to support their families. For me, it was right to stop everything I was doing and pay tribute to those brave men and women.
I heard a retired soldier say during the commentary that day that his training for battle always included love of country. He said, “We learned to not hate the one in front but to love the one behind.” That puts a whole different slant on war. We don’t fight out of hate but rather out of love.
At Wichita Falls Faith Mission, we are in a battle everyday for the lives and souls of men, women and children. I have to remind myself daily that the people we serve are not the enemy. It’s the sin and strongholds in their lives that deserve our contempt. We love the person, just as they are. It takes seeing them through the eyes of Christ and hearing them with His ears.
Sometimes people end up in our shelters through no fault of their own. The circumstances and loss they suffer can be the result of living in a fallen world. This is why we believe it is important to recognize our enemy and pray to the God who fights our battles. Then we are able to focus our energy on loving the ones that God sends to us. We fight for love.
