God has a plan, a battle strategy, if you will. We have discussed the fact that the battlefield on which the cosmic struggle between good and evil (God and the evil one) plays out is the human mind/heart. Jesus said, "Go into all the nations and make disciples." (Matthew 28:19) That is, find those who are willing "to follow his precepts and instructions." (Source) Of course, he did not mean that the Twelve Apostles could do that alone.
He sent the 70 out to evangelize, telling them, "The harvest truly is great, but the laborers are few; therefore pray the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into His harvest." (Luke 10:2) Again we hear the Lord telling his disciples to recruit new laborers for the harvest. Why was Jesus so intent on "making disciples/recruiting laborers?" Was it because he wanted His club to be bigger than the Pharisees' club?
The answer is in the text from Isaiah 61:1-2 that Jesus quoted in Luke 4:18. To wit:
"He has sent Me to heal the brokenhearted, To proclaim liberty to the captives And recovery of sight to the blind, To set at liberty those who are oppressed."
Who are the brokenhearted? The captives? The blind? The oppressed? Was Jesus referring to letting prisoners out of Roman jails, or perhaps, wiping out the Romans altogether? Did he really mean to seek out everyone who was sightless and give him sight?
Soldier, we have to think bigger. In Mark 8:17-19, Jesus addresses His disciples, when they are concerned because they have no food. He reminds them of the time he fed the 5,000. He asks them, "Having eyes, do you not see? And having ears, do you not hear?" (v. 18). He was telling them to think bigger than their immediate needs. He was telling them not to rely on their own resources but to rely on the Father to provide.
Just so, in the passage in Luke, Jesus was referring to bigger things than the immediate physical needs of the people he addressed. The "brokenhearted" are people just like you and me who are despairing of ever finding peace; the "captives" are those enslaved to sin; the "blind" are those who will not see that God is the answer to their hearts' desires; the "oppressed" are those who are prisoners of war, taken captive by Satan through the lies that he has used to poison their minds.
Why are we Marching as to War? To fulfill the mission of the Commander-in-Chief. We are his soldiers in the battle for the minds/hearts of those who are brokenhearted because they are captive to sin, blinded by unbelief, and oppressed by the lies of Satan. That is the harvest to which Jesus referred. As we harvest the oppressed and Christ transforms them into disciples, the size of His army grows, providing more Christian soldiers for the fight.
"But I'm not an evangelist," you say. "I don't know how to 'bring in the harvest.' Where do I start." I believe one of the most overlooked ministries in all of American Christendom is the family. In Psalm 127:3-5, God tells us:
3 Sons are a heritage from the LORD,
children a reward from him.
4 Like arrows in the hands of a warrior
are sons born in one's youth.
5 Blessed is the man
whose quiver is full of them.
They will not be put to shame
when they contend with their enemies in the gate.
Read this Psalm carefully. "Sons are a heritage (That which is inherited, or passes from heir to heir. Remember we are adopted sons of God and co-heirs with Christ. Galatians 4:7) from the Lord, children a reward from him." Children a reward from God, and yet we reject these rewards through all manner of rationalizations: I can't afford them; they are inconvenient; how will I send them to college; they are only a lump of tissue... When it comes to building God's army, what better place to get recruits than from the Commander-in-Chief Himself...as a reward?
The psalmist goes on: "Like arrows in the hands of a warrior are the sons born in one's youth." Could God be telling us that our children are the very weapons He will use in the cosmic struggle? How does a warrior treat his weapons? Does he throw them away? Does he leave them unattended so they rust and decay? Does he make arrangements so that he cannot receive more of them, if his commanding officer desires to provide them to him? Not on your life! How are you dealing with your children, Sergeant? What shape are your arrows in?
"Blessed (divinely or supremely favored) is the man whose quiver is full (the more the better) of them. They will not be put to shame when they contend with their enemies in the gate." Well, I can't think why anyone would desire to be "divinely or supremely favored." I guess that's why we reject God's heritage, His rewards.
This verse goes on to say that the man whose quiver is full of the "arrows" God has given him has children who "will not be put to shame" by their enemies. They are brought up "in the nurture and admonition of the Lord" (Ephesians 6:4) They are trained by their parents and grandparents to fear the Lord and they learn the scriptures and Biblical precepts, so that they will "not be put to shame when they contend with their enemies in the gate." The gate refers to the gate of the city, which was the center of commerce, justice and government in Old Testament times.
What shape are your arrows in, Captain? Are they sharp? Do they have shafts that are true, so they will fly reliably to their marks? Do you have a quiver full of them? Remember, the battlefield is in the minds/hearts of men. The war is one between Truth and lies. As in any war, the side with the largest army has an advantage. While followers of Islam have more children and rising birth rates, the nations of the western world continue to have declining birthrates. Is God rewarding the Islamists more than Christians? Or are we thwarting God's plan for us to raise up His army beginning in our homes with children who are loved and disciplined and discipled and nurtured and sharpened and made true?
Time for some soul-searching, Christian soldier.
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