A Hill to Die Upon

Our real problem, then, is not our strength today; it is rather the vital necessity of action today to ensure our strength tomorrow.
-Dwight D. Eisenhower

We are all in a battle. Of the worst kind. We cannot always see the action swirling around us. The hits come and the devastation is made worse because we never saw the danger coming. We rarely employ strategy but instead rely on a half-hearted attempt to defend ourselves with the worst of weaponry. Bombs are going off around us and our system becomes numb. Pain is no longer shocking--and we can't make out the horizon because the cloud of smoke is choking us. We hear Satan's mocking voice as he gloats in our seeming defeat. In a last gasp, we hear an odd sound. A war cry the likes of which sends shivers down a weathered general's back. Christ blazes in with a state-of-the-art tank called the Holy Spirit and the authority of God Almighty. No longer does the heart accept defeat, no longer does Satan have a hold. Christ saves the day with his bloody sacrifice and we are set free from any and all bondage.

The battle will rage tomorrow and the result will always be the same. Christ conquered death. He won.

But what really, are we fighting for?

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We are fighting for our lives. We are fighting for our children's lives. We are fighting for our friendships and our marriages. We are fighting for incomparable joy and our livelihoods. We are fighting for our futures.

And we have to decide, is there a hill upon which we must die? Is this battle worth our lives? Is it worth the time, the money, the energy, the loss of reputation, the painful stretching one endures during transformation?

Is the battle for our spiritual lives important enough that we'd risk everything for? Where you get your next breath from matters. Who have you given your allegiance to? What are you holding back? What is keeping you from rallying the spirit within, and charging hell or high water up the hill?

Because on top of the hill, is a cross, upon which Jesus decided you were worth dying for.

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I appreciate watching World War II documentaries. Do I love watching them? No. I do not love learning about war. But I appreciate the stories and truths that can be learned from those who have fought or are fighting. I have watched all of Band of Brothers, and now The Pacific (I realize I'm not HBO's usual demographic!). In a sort of weird way, I would much rather watch an episode of one of those miniseries than any current modern day television show. Where does a gracious heart grow from?

From realizing all that has been given to you. All that you have been entrusted with. All the sacrifices made on your behalf. So many members of my generation take our carefree lives for granted. I am one of those, for sure. That's one of the reasons why I'd rather watch one of those documentaries than anything on Bravo. I was watching an episode of The Pacific with a few guy friends this past weekend and reflected upon this upcoming Veterans Day. I have so much to be thankful for. So many good men who laid down there lives for mine.

So today, I thank any soldier who has ever died to save my physical life, and I thank Jesus Christ for dying to save my eternal soul. I owe all to soldiers and Jesus. Soldiers for charging up hills to meet the enemy in every earthly war, and Christ for signing up to die for my sins on Calvary's Hill.

For the glory of Him alone,

Kaley Dawn