Today I am still trying to process a tragedy - yesterday's massive shooting at Fort Hood, Texas ... right in my backyard, so-to-speak, as a Texas native. Everyone knows Fort Hood. Growing up in East Texas with a father who worked for the largest (at that time) Army Depot in the country, in my young eyes Fort Hood was a place filled with heroes. It was also a place filled with tears when time came for deployments, as family members knew the risks involved with front-line assignments. But for the soldiers who were within its large borders, Fort Hood was home.
That's part of the reason processing the tragedy is so hard. Soldiers repeatedly said that of course they weren't armed; this was their home. They didn't walk around the base prepared for battle. Yet the sad reality is that yesterday, as men and women were in a processing center to prepare to go to a war zone, a "dangerous" place ... someone invaded their home. Someone brought danger to their doorstep and burst inside with a sickening spray of ammunition.
Home wasn't safe, after all.
Our spare bedroom temporarily houses a friend who is on a sabbatical from life in one of the most dangerous spots on the planet. She's given 9 years of her life to this place out of a desire to see the glory of God descend and His power transform the society she loves so dearly. Yet this sabbatical was delayed a year because just before coming home two years ago she was diagnosed with cancer. She endured a year of chemo and treatment in the States and then picked up where she left off with a year's sabbatical, giving her body a chance to recover and her spirit the opportunity to hear God's plan for her to continue serving the people she loves so dearly.
The front line assignment that led so many of us to worry didn't turn out to be the most dangerous thing in her life, after all.
What's the point? The Fort Hood shooting and my friend's cancer are visible reminders that danger isn't confined to the front lines and safety isn't guaranteed if we hold back from total surrender to God's kingdom purposes. I'm not saying that we should act unwisely ... but we also should not let fear hinder our decision to be on mission with God.
Safety is only found in His presence and His purpose. His purpose isn't a cause, it's a kingdom. His kingdom come, His will be done on earth as it is in heaven. So often that kingdom ethic is upside down from our human perspective. Love your enemies. Forgive without getting vengeance. Quit holding on to your life in a futile effort to save it - instead, pour it out for the sake of His glory among the nations. These are the messages that come through loud and clear, above all the doctrinal disputes and different perspectives of Scripture.
If you are on mission with God - let these vignettes remind you that holding back for fear of what the front lines might mean isn't necessarily safe. The reality of spiritual warfare is that the front lines come to us if we don't go to them. The fighting is on our knees and in our hearts, whether we stay or go. And the reality is, in the face of this tragedy we have to work extra hard to not let our love grow cold.
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