A Brave Soldier

     I probably won't get this story exactly right, but maybe it will be close enough for us to gain a lesson from it.  It happened a few years ago, when my nephew, Will was only about 3 or so.  A young man who had been part of their congregation had lost his life while serving his country overseas.  In honor of this courageous young man, one of his uniforms was put on display in the foyer of the church building where they attend.  My sister in law was at the church building for some reason and Will was with her.  He was fascinated by the soldier's uniform.  As he stood looking at it .. he began to ask his mother questions about whose uniform it was and why was it there. 
     How do you explain something like that to someone so young?  How do you make them understand that serving your country and protecting its freedom is a noble undertaking that sometimes ends in paying the highest cost?  Well, I am not sure of everything my sweet sister in law told her son -- but one thing she did tell him was that the uniform had belonged to a very brave soldier.  Indeed, it had.  Will was still so enthralled with the uniform that he asked his Mom --(or maybe it wasn't a question) "One day, I be a brave soldier."  As a mother, I can't even begin to imagine how my sister in law felt at that point.  Our children can certainly pull at our heartstrings sometimes, can't they?
     To tell you the truth though, I hope and pray that Will does grow up to be a brave soldier.  No, I am not necessarily talking about for our country in the military (although I love and have the utmost respect for those men who are willing to sacrifice everything to keep us free).  I am talking about being a brave soldier in the Lord's army.  And shouldn't we all long to be brave soldiers for our Lord?   Yes, we should.  We should want to belong to the Lord - to serve Him and to "fight the good fight" as Paul did. 
     The song, "The Lord's Army" is a favorite one for our little ones.  They love the motions in the song.  It gets them moving and the tune is catchy.  And to think that even as young as they are, they can be in the Lord's army makes them feel important - like they are helping the Lord.  Surely you all know the words of the song, -- "I may never march in the infantry, ride in the Calvary, shoot the artillery, I may never fly o'er the enemy -- but I'm in the Lord's army."  Wonderful, right? -- But what does it mean to be in the Lord's army? Well as a teacher of pre school children, I added a verse to the song. Consider these thoughts.  By these words, I hoped to explain to the children what being in the Lord's army really meant.
    "So I will read my Bible every day, grow stronger when I pray; shine my light so bright; I'll always stand up for what is right? Cause I'm in the Lord's army."

    Why else would I read my Bible every day? (I'm still working on that goal).
Why would I grow stronger when I pray  - or why would I even want to pray?
Why would I let my light shine - why would I strive to glorify God in that way?
And finally why would I always stand up for what is right?
Why?  Because I am in the Lord's army!  Are you?

Christ above all things,
Robin