No Comrade Left Behind

Keith O'Neal - Director

2 Tim 2:4… And as Christ's soldier, do not let yourself become tied up in the affairs of this life, for then you cannot satisfy the one who has enlisted you in his ARMY.  NLT

Paul often used military illustrations in His letters. This is not surprising since he lived in a military state and was in prison himself.  Paul makes it very clear in his writings that all of us believers are truly soldiers and members in God’s Army.  That being the case, I believe we can learn about how to treat one another by taking a closer look at how soldiers in our nations military treat one another.

Recently I had the opportunity to talk to a group of soldiers who had just returned from Iraq.  During the course of our conversation one soldier in the group shared a story that caught my attention.  He talked about the unwritten code of honor that was adhered to by all soldiers, “No comrade left behind.” 

He told of how one of his comrades had been killed in action and buried by the Iraqi people.  Acting on a tip from some area town’s people, they were given directions to the burial site and a mission to recover their fallen comrade was launched.  He said it was a dangerous mission to undertake but one they never thought twice about.  They risked their own lives to recover the remains of a fellow soldier. 

As I stared into the hearts of these brave soldiers I could see their passion and devotion to their fellow comrades, especially those who had been wounded or even killed.   Each and every one of them would put themselves in harm’s way to rescue or even recover one of their own.   

In God’s Army it seems we have not adopted this same commitment to our fellow Christian comrades.  Lying everywhere on the battlefield of life, in the midst of a war designed to destroy each and every one of us, are fallen Christian comrades that have been wounded and even killed by Satan’s attacks.

My prayer is that the “Army of God” will someday soon adopt the same motto as our nation’s military and make a commitment to NEVER, NEVER, leave a comrade behind.  No matter how they get wounded, no matter what the cause of their failure, may “WE”, God’s SOLDIERS be willing to go to great personal risk and intense personal struggle to rescue and recover them.  After all, isn’t that what Christ did for us and isn't it what He commanded us to do as well?  Isn’t it in fact what Apostle Paul instructed us to do in Galatians 6:1?

I can't help but wonder how God feels when believers shout the house down on Sunday but are "Sadly Silent" when they encounter lost and hurting people through the week?  At RestorationNET we will leave no comrade behind, never!