Problems are for Solving

Last week I posted a note about a new album that I’ve been burning up. Not really burning up (though doesn’t that conjure up two entirely antithetical images? And wow–did I just use antithetical in an actual blog post?) literally of course, but listening to a lot.

In the fourth song, Hymn, Anthony pens the line:

Rise up o Church
And grab the sword
Stand up and fight
This glorious war

The whole verse that contains this line is fantastic. I can’t get all the words down for sure and I’m too lazy to run get the jacket and look and see if they’re there (I think they are), but the line just inspires me.

Rise up Church! Grab the spirit’s sword! Fight! We’ve been called to a glorious war!

And a war it is.

I’ve known those who are angry at the Church. Those who think she’s become the whore of Babylon or just filled with false teachers and so not only can but ought to be avoided.

But Jesus builds the Church. And He is. She is far from perfect, but she is His Church. And she is at war.

War conjures up many images for me, but the one that is conjured up right now is of a rag tag group of men fighting to save their homes from an oppressive invader. They didn’t ask for the fight and they don’t want to fight, and they would much rather be home living in peace. These men probably wouldn’t be friends in most situations. They come from different social strata and have varying educations and opposing opinions in a broad spectrum of topics. They probably would argue tooth and nail about all kinds of matters and would generally avoid being around one another.

Except for the pesky war. Because of this war, these men who wouldn’t be friends in a normal, peaceful situation become a band of brothers who are willing to die for one another. Because of the war, the unfriendly become life long friends. Because of the war, they learn to get along and in fact grow in love and devotion to one another, trusting their lives into each others’ hands.

And so to those of you who claim Christ’s Name as that alone in which you find your salvation I say this:

You’re at war.

And because you’re at war you need to tend to your weapons and your fellow soldier’s in this army of rag tag people that you often don’t like and that you’d rather were someplace else. Why? Because they’re not the enemy. They’re the ones that will watch your back when you’re asleep and who will engage against the foe for your sake, whether they agree with you about secondary and tertiary matters. So stop fighting in the camp, and take up the weapons that the Commander has given and fight the glorious war. I’ve got your back, even if I disagree with you. If you’re in the General’s Army, you’re my friend. Army, navy, baptist, presbyterian, whatever the label–if you’re Christ’s, I’ll watch your back.

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