A WORD FOR TODAY, March 6, 2023
Peggy Hoppes
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Blessings. Peg
A WORD FOR TODAY, March 6, 2023
“For though we walk in the flesh, we are not waging war according to the flesh. For the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh but have divine power to destroy strongholds. We destroy arguments and every lofty opinion raised against the knowledge of God, and take every thought captive to obey Christ, being ready to punish every disobedience, when your obedience is complete.” 2 Corinthians 10:3-6 (ASV)
People assembled at dawn this morning to commemorate the fall of the Alamo in San Antonio. In 1836, Mexican forces led by General Antonio Lopez de Santa Anna stormed the fortress after a 13-day siege; the battle claimed the lives of all the Texan defenders, nearly 200 strong, including William Travis, James Bowie and Davy Crockett. It was a horrifying defeat, which was followed by another defeat in Goliad. The Texian forces should have lost the war, but Sam Houston defeated Santa Anna at San Jacinto, freeing Texas from Mexican rule. We remember the Alamo because in that story we see how defeat can lead to victory.
It was a much different battle than those we wage today. Modern warfare uses weapons that are delivered from great distances. Pilots drop bombs without ever seeing the people who will die from the explosion. Soldiers fire guns that can hit targets so far away that it is hard to recognize if the victim is friend or foe.
There was a movie a few years ago about the great Trojan war, a story that has been colored with so many legends and myths that it is difficult to know how much is really true. This is the story of the gods, the wooden horse, the face that launched a thousand ships, and great warriors like Hercules. In one scene, thousands of men were on the battlefield, lined up one side facing the other. Suddenly the soldiers rushed forward, and the swords begin to clang. It was hand to hand combat and the winners were left with the blood of their victims on their swords and bodies. We see similar scenes in movies like the “Lord of the Rings” and other stories from ancient days.
I don’t know much about the Trojan War, but I wonder if the number of soldiers on the field was really anything like what we see in the movie. There are often hundreds of thousands of soldiers on the filed in modern combat, so we think the same must be true for those ancient fights. The bloodiest ancient battles throughout history really had only thousands, perhaps just hundreds of troops! Most died seeing the whites of their enemies’ eyes in hand-to-hand combat. Unfortunately, most of the dead probably died from lack of medical attention and from being trampled than from the actual wounds they sustained.
I have been to the Alamo and have seen the IMAX movie about the great battle over Texas that has nearly as much myth and legend as the Trojan War. Though that battle was 187 years ago, there was a big different between how they fought and how the armies fought in the twelfth century B.C. in Troy. Santa Anna’s Mexican troops as well as the men in the Alamo had rifles and cannons that could be used from a distance. There is a scene in the movie showing Davie Crockett shooting a man from the other side of the battlefield. But they also fought head on. As the Mexicans breached the wall, the Texans pushed and hit them with blunt instruments and their hands. The Alamo eventually fell, and many men lost their lives. The battle took 90 minutes after a siege of thirteen days. In today’s world, the Alamo complex could be completely destroyed in a minute with one smart bomb.
We are lucky that we don’t have to fight in battles like they did at Troy or the Alamo. Most of us have not had to fight modern wars, either. We do fight battles every day, however, often without realizing it. We fight against that which stands against God. There are spiritual powers that are determined to turn us from God, to make us reject Him. Our battle is against these powers. We also fight an inner battle against our own human flesh.
The weapons we use in spiritual warfare are much different than they used at Troy or at the Alamo. We do not use swords of metal or guns that shoot bullets. We do not even use our fists. We have no shields that will stop our enemy from harming our bodies. We have something greater. We have the Word of God as our weapon. In the world we learn that sticks and stones may break our bones, but names will never hurt us. Yet, we also know that words in a time of battle do have an impact on the outcome of the war. Scottish warriors often frightened their enemies with their loud war cries. Other ancient armies used the chanting and witchcraft of their priests to create terror in the hearts of their foes. Kings gave great speeches to their troops to build them up and to dishearten the opponents. But in the end, it is the sword and the gun that killed the soldiers and won the war.
In Christ, however, our enemies are not the kind that will fall by the sword. Darkness and death cannot be defeated with a gun. It is only by the Word of God that we can overcome the greatest enemies. As we preach the Gospel into the lives of those who are living in sin, they are transformed in heart and spirit by the love and mercy of Christ. The devil and the demons will only be defeated by the power of Christ, and people will only be set free by His love. It is unlikely that we will ever face a battle of the flesh or fight on a battlefield of this world. But we do fight every day against the powers that are in opposition to the will of God. He does not leave us to fight this battle alone, however. He stands with us on the battlefield giving us all we need to fight.
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