Lessons the Iraqis Have Taught Me

By now, with the war in Iraq in full swing, there is practically no one in any of the developed nations that is unaware of more details than it is even wise for us to possess. We have opportunity to watch a small amount of the action through night goggles and fixed cameras. We hear the roar of tanks from reports of "embedded" newsmen.

I am aware of the international nature of this email list, and the thousands that receive these e-letters in many nations. I am humbled to be a part of this ministry, and I am humbled to be an American. God had blessed my home abundantly, and in spite of what you may feel about its actions, I thank Him daily for my country and its leadership. I don't want to use this letter to defend it, nor be an apologist for it. This email is intended to cause us to think about the Lord and be built up in Him as His body in every nation, and not a forum for me to make comments on this war - that is not God's instruction to me concerning its use. I just want to carefully share some observations of our spiritual walk that God laid on my heart as I watched the scenes unfold. I trust we will respond by reflecting on our walk with God amid these important days! After all, ALL "the Kingdoms of this world will become the Kingdoms of our Lord and of our Messiah, and He shall reign for ever!" (Hallelujah!)

I have noticed three observations from this war that illustrate spiritual realities that surround us as believers in every land - see if they help you as well:

Lesson of the Spiritual World

Lesson #1. If I bury myself in a well furnished bunker, maybe I will escape judgment.

In the face of overwhelming power, some people are still believing they can avoid judgment. I was amazed at the sheer power of the weaponry that I saw in the barrages of fire. It is amazing and at the same time (from a human standpoint) painful to realize how much damage mankind can cause at the touch of a button. Be that as it may be, it is slight compared to the awesome power of the Mighty Lord that all of us will eventually face at the end of this short earth life. The Bible says that we are eternal beings, and He is a Mighty God. There is truly none as powerful as He! Yet, sadly, many people bury there heads in the sand, believing that in spite of the oncoming face to face meeting they will surely have with Him, they "will be ok".

I saw yesterday an elderly man in his garden. It was Sunday morning, and his biggest concern was taking care of transplanting his potted plants. There he sat, at more than 75 years of age, planting God's flowers into God's earth. There he sat, with a face to face meeting on God's calendar probably sometime in the next decade. Thousands around him were going to a house of worship to sing praises to God, but he was unaware of his end, planting his plants. I couldn't help but think of how like the Iraqi leadership we are, believing we can avoid the confrontation, or somehow slip out of the judgment that is sure to come.

One thing is important for believers to acknowledge when we share a message about that face to face meeting with God: It is His kindness that leads us to repentance! God reaches out to us til our dying breath to share eternal life if we believe on Jesus. Yet sadly, many of us ignore the coming trouble and hide in an emotional bunker and believe the day will not come. Others clutter and decorate the bunker with pictures and furnishings that help them to believe the bunker is their eternal home. They will eventually face the Lord. How can I share His loving kindness with them so they can avoid this end?

Lesson #2. Rather than face the problem, I will spend inordinate energy on the irrelevant.

In the absence of the ability to stop the inevitable, the defenders spend an inordinate amount of time on things that won't effect the outcome significantly at all! In the TV war, the cruise missiles and troops dissect the country and take control of it, while two hundred Iraqi police last week were poised on the bank of the Euphrates trying to find a mysterious single pilot that they believed was shot down. Even if they found him, would that change the outcome of the war? No! Yet several hundred spent hours along with the TV cameras, dealing with this intensely - as though it was the watershed of the fight. It was not!

Isn't that the way many of us are? We spent all of our energy on things that will not matter in eternity, and exhaust ourselves as if we are living the priorities of God. I suspect that I will reflect someday in Heaven on the nonsense that seemed so important to me here, and when the love of God becomes my home, things will look differently. I think it is a good exercise, even now, to ask myself, "How important is this situation to the Lord?" and "Will this affect the goal of reaching people with the Good News? Will it show His love to those who need to see it?" Remember, we only have one option: live eternally. The question is "where", not "if"! Someone has said: "Only one life, will soon be passed, only what's done for Christ will last". Good words to put on my daytimer! I guess we have to know what makes something relevant, to measure whether we should spend our energy on it!

Lesson #3. I can get peace, but only through surrender!

In the end, the only way for people to find real peace is surrender! The coalition forces have been increasingly making the observation that this war will end when the Iraqi regime ends. They have the choice to surrender and face the penalties, or fight on and face the penalties. In the face of overwhelming power, one thing is certain - they will face the penalties.

It strikes me that God's love was best shown by how He handled the terrible penalty of our sin problem. We are also given a choice: Face our own penalties, or surrender to His love and be acquitted of all charges (though we are guilty!) The way to eternal peace is to surrender to God's peace plan!

Other lessons to consider:

There are a great many lessons we can learn from physical war. I think back 20 years ago to reading Gen. George Patton's "War As I Knew It". I read incredible insights from the old general on physical war that apply to the spiritual battles we face as well. His wisdom included insights like:

"Never get a battle report from a wounded soldier!" How true that is! Even in the spiritual realm, we try to get an assessment of a situation on a mission field or in a local church, often from the wounded. We won't get the right picture!

I especially like Gen. Patton's insights on the M-1 rifle. He argues: "The weapon is superb, but it has one fatal flaw. It will not kill the enemy when pointed in the wrong direction! The most important part of the firing process is choosing and acquiring the target!"

I thought immediately of our prayer life! One of the greatest and most effective weapons God gave us to move forward with a message of His love has been oft' reduced to "God bless this food and the missionaries!" With the broad and sweeping prayers we believe we are somehow participating in the firing line, yet, we haven't even acquired the target, and then measured the aftershot damage. I have found the most exciting prayers are offered when you humbly but directly ask the Lord to show His strong arm in the situation, and then journal His work. Later, when you are feeling forgotten (and we all do sometimes), you can read the log of God's faithfulness. The restoration will overtake you when you again remember the faithfulness of God!

There are many others, but these may be an encouragement during this very difficult time.

May God bring all of us who know Him into the front line of the battle to declare His love to a world that is estranged from their loving Father. May we use prayer and servanthood like powerful weapons,

That's the view from my chair!
R