Marching As To War, With The Cross Of Jesus

Last week, in "Onward Christian Soldiers," I posted some reflections on the role of Christians in the armed forces. Here are a few more reflections.

Can a senior military officer truly follow Jesus and still be an efficient and effective soldier? An emphatic “yes” is the answer from Major General Tim Cross of the British Army, addressing a conference of the Association of Military Christian Fellowships in Warsaw some years ago.

He lays down five guiding principles for the officer seeking to follow Jesus. And he gives an answer to the question: in war, whose side is God on?

It’s a fascinating address. At this time of conflict and confrontation it deserves a wider audience (though, sadly, no longer appears to be online).

The five principles:

1. God didn’t send a committee. He sent a human leader, who had a team of twelve, one of whom was a failure. So it’s crucial that someone be in charge, with authority and responsibility. “You can’t lead by committee – the buck stops with you, the leader.”

2. Jesus was a leader who served:

Don’t cling to positions of authority, title, status or shoulder power; rather live with and live through the lives of your people. In doing so, you will stand shoulder to shoulder with the British officers in the Falklands who arrived in Port Stanley cold, dirty and tired, having fought alongside their men, and not with the Argentinean officers who set themselves apart, and surrendered clean, well fed and rested: and you will stand alongside those British officers and non-commissioned officers who, without any orders, appeared at all times of the day and night to help the refugees in Blace and Brazde in Northern Macedonia, giving their time, food and energy unselfishly.

3. Jesus was a leader who developed the gifts of others. He built up self-belief in all He came into contact with.

4. Don’t stand aloof from your people. Communicate with them. Listen and consult. Jesus didn’t operate from an office.

5. Confront evil and sin, and do so head on. Evil is ever-present. So condemn the sin, but not the sinner:

This fifth principle, best summed up perhaps in the word “love,” applies to our enemies too. “Love your enemies” is not a pacifist message, but it does lie at the very heart of the Geneva Convention.

If you can do this, then you will stand alongside those who achieved such great things in the Falklands but also then made the decisions not to shell the retreating Argentineans around Port Stanley; with those who achieved so much in the Gulf War, but then ensured that British vehicles, food and water were made available to the captured Iraqi prisoners of war; with those who today ensure equality of treatment in Northern Ireland, Cyprus and in Bosnia, Kosovo, Sierra Leone, and East Timor. 

And you will stand separate from those who were in My Lai in Vietnam, or slaughtered women and children and wounded soldiers in the Far East and Europe in World War II, or ethnically cleansed the villages and towns throughout Bosnia, Croatia and Kosovo. This is what separates out the true Christian leader. Difficult? Yes, of course it is, but in following the example of Jesus Christ you can be inspired to stand firm against evil and achieve great things.

We should applaud the fact that we have such leaders in our military, and praise God that we have such a Servant King who inspires them.

Finally, in warfare, whose side is God on?

In the words of Major General Cross:

Too often we expect God to be on our side. But that is not the real issue. It is not a matter of whose side God is on in warfare, or any other aspect of life. The real question is not, “Whose side is God on?” but, “Are we on God’s side?” 

Does God Still Speak to Soldiers?

In Old Testament times God spoke regularly to Israel’s military commanders, directing their battles and bringing about the defeat of their enemies. He sent an angel to instruct Joshua about how to conquer Jericho. He told David how to overcome the Philistines. There are many other examples.

But what about today? Can a Christian military leader expect divine intervention? Does God still take sides?

Some Christian officers have spoken openly of their faith, of how they have turned to God in their times of need and of how He has responded.

Here is Major General Tim Cross of the British Army on God at work in the life of a fellow Christian officer:

Major Chris Keeble, when Colonel H Jones was killed at Goose Green in the 1982 Falklands War, was left alone and somewhat lost; others looked to him as the Battalion second-in-command for leadership. His moment had come; so what did he do? 

He moved off alone and knelt in the burning heather; with a prayer taken from his pocket in has hand he sought the Lord. And from there he gathered himself up, and with the command team he went and sought the Argentinean surrender; it was an incredibly bold move, but Keeble is a Christian and it was not by chance that he carried God’s word and a prayer with him, and he was not abandoned by his Lord at this decisive moment.

General Pil Sup Lee, formerly chairman of the South Korean Joint Chiefs of Staff, has no doubt that God intervened for him at a crucial time:

In August 1979, I was appointed as a regiment commander on the frontline. Back then, there were frequent small-scale infiltrations by enemy soldiers into the South to carry out assassination missions and collect intelligence. It was a very daunting task to search out these enemy soldiers who were infiltrating along the 155-mile military demarcation line and the 3,767-mile coastline. 

Under such circumstances, I thought the best way was to seek God’s help, because “unless the Lord watches over the city, the watchmen stand guard in vain” (Psalm 127:1). I continuously prayed for this daunting mission of safeguarding my nation from enemy infiltration. And when I was about to begin my new mission as a regiment commander, I fasted for three days and prayed to the Lord.

...On March 23, 1980 at 02:45, there was no moonlight and the sky was draped with clouds. Sleet was pouring down making visibility less than 50 meters. I still wonder how a group of three enemy infiltrators, who were highly trained, select agents, risking their lives, walked up to one of our sentry boxes that were set up every 400 meters. 

How could our newly recruited sentries completely suppress those enemy agents without any casualties? Situations unfolded in such a way that defies explanation with conventional tactical assessments.

Many modern Christians will feel uncomfortable with such talk. Yes, they will say, it seems exactly right that God should save lives by arranging for the surrender of Argentinean forces to the British. But does He really answer prayer by helping South Korean soldiers kill three infiltrators from the North?

I don’t have a complete answer. But I do know that God promises to uphold justice and righteousness. I also know that He is sovereign. And when we start placing limits on his sovereignty we dishonor Him.

As we read in Isaiah:

For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways,” declares the Lord. “As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts.