New Battles, Old Tactics

I have always wondered why soldiers in the old days walked out into battle, shoulder to shoulder in a line heading straight toward their enemy, knowing they would be shot.

"HOLD!!"
“DO NOT BREAK THE LINE!” their commanders would shout at them!

In fact, those that went against common sense and “broke the line” were branded as cowards and weak. Didn’t they know they were supposed to stand up and fight like a man?
When I see it portrayed in movies, or I read about it,..I always shake my head in disbelief.
The tactic makes no sense.
Walk out into the line of enemy fire without protection and “hope“ nothing happens?
Why train? Why drill?
I’m no soldier, but it looks to me like a senseless slaughter is the only thing that could happen.
What a waste.

Many old timey photos are of an aftermath of battles fought that way. When we gaze on those dead bodies, do we consider that those young men were someone's beloved sons?
Someone's husband?
Their daddy?

War is often fought for noble purposes, and it is an fair assumption that the commanding leaders will make intelligent decisions about the safety of those under their care.
Surely there was a time when the commanders of the old fashioned armies thought:
This is not the best way to win the war.
I certainly would imagine that the soldiers sat around their campfires at night quietly doubting themselves:
"Surely, we can be better soldiers and a more effective army if we did things differently."

The price was too high to do things the way they have always been done, especially when so many are paying such a high price.
What took them so long to figure it out?

Is that what we do today as Christians? We go to church on Sundays and other days we read our prepackaged, preprinted morning devotionals and step out our front door and face the world.
We are sitting ducks.
We are falling by the hundreds and wondering why.

We march through our lives thoughtlessly, being careful to “not break the rules".

We line ourselves up in the world, doing church as we have done for the past 100 years, directly in front of the enemy,..with zero cover.

We are fighting new battles with old tactics.
Wishing things were different, but not knowing exactly how to turn the war around.

Meanwhile, the enemy has all Christ-followers in his cross hairs.
At times, he seems to have outwitted us.
It's a bad time to be foolish.

As God’s beloved children, we all are in such incredible danger.
He is aimed at our heads, our hearts, our homes and our children.

Ephesians 6:12- (The Message)
This is no afternoon athletic contest the we'll walk away from in a couple of hours. This is for keeps, a life-or-death fight to the finish against the devil and all his angels.
Be prepared! You are up against far more than you can handle on your own.

Dear Lord,...
Help us all to listen for Your commandments and directions.
Your voice only.
Only Yours.