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.
Last week
I quoted Major
General Tim Cross of the British Army on whether God favours one side over
another.
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?”
Here Major General Cross
talks about 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, and the new president of the
Association of Military Christian Fellowships,
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
dishonour 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.”
September 21st, 2002
