Soldiers are a unique breed. As in the case of our current military, they are all volunteers and know before they sign on the dotted line that they may be asked to defend our country and possibly give their all in defense of our great nation. This may sound overtly patriotic, it is meant to. I am truly grateful to the men and women that have served and continue to serve our country on my behalf in far off and strange lands.

I know that this is an odd way to start out an Inside Out commentary but follow me, if you will, down another interesting rabbit trail. As Christians we are sometimes called “soldiers of the cross” and many hymns have themes of struggle in them. In the familiar Ephesians passage about putting on the full armor of God, it says in chapter 6 verse 12, “For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.” In the Message it is rendered this way, “This is no afternoon athletic contest that we’ll walk away from and forget about in a couple of hours. This is for keeps, a life-or-death fight to the finish against the Devil and all his angels.”

So, how can we expect to claim the name of Christ and not expect to ruffle some feathers from time to time. Not each others, but those of our common enemy, satan. I was recently talking with a woman that has stepped out in faith in a new ministry endeavor. As we talked, I found out that she was finding out what a leap of faith she had taken. She and her husband are in the process of adopting a third child from another country and her husband was fired without cause just a few days earlier. I told her that just because you are being “shot” at does not mean you are not in the correct battle, it is just a reminder that you ARE in a battle.

I further encouraged her with these thoughts. As far as I know, they are original with me but I claim no corner of the market as my own on inspirational thoughts. With that, here is what I told her.

As Christians, we have had a checkered past with fighting. Many things have been done in Christ’s name that were wrong and many more people have been hurt by people draped in “religious” trappings. What I think would make the most sense is for me and any who feel like-minded, ask forgiveness of those we have hurt while acting all “goody goody” and get real. Life is hard, God is good. I leave you with those six simple words.

In the next Inside Out be prepared for a story of “Biblical” proportions. I will give you a clue and your imagination will do the rest. I was doing something I have done countless times over the past twenty years. I will give you the ingredients of the recipe and have given the dish the name, “DISASTER.” 28 ft ladder, Tim, pine tree and chain saw.

I am glad to be back to visit with you. Your fellow servant, Tim Meyer