When I lived in Port Huron, Michigan, my wife and I were friends with some men (and their wives) who served at the Coast Guard station there. They were wonderful men and heroes, every one. One of them had even won a medal for diving in after a crewmate who had fallen of the ship on which they were stationed. When other sailors were heading to port to beat a storm, these men were heading out into the teeth of the oncoming storm in order to rescue a boater whose boat had stalled, or taken on too much water, or simply gotten lost and was in the path of the storm.
It was from them that I first saw modeled a clearly tough Christianity. No, they did not beat their chests or drum. No, they did not get drunk and get arrested. In fact, they were very good husbands. They lived in the community, were involved in our church, played with their kids, and were some of the most gentle men I have ever met. No, they were not perfect. But, when necessary, when the call came, when the storm was approaching, their eye could get a glint, their stare would get a certain focus, and off they would go to do things most of us would be scared to do.
Why do I say that they modeled a tough Christianity? It was because they used no cliches, but they did live the life. They went to Bible Studies; they went to church; they went to their kids games; they volunteered to help other people out in practical ways, such as helping them fix their house, their car, etc.; they were small group leaders; they played one tough game of church softball without cussing or making fun of the other team–they even had a rule that you had to drop for pushups if you were caught mocking the other team in any way. They lent an ear to those who needed someone to listen to them. Ultimately, they even saved other peoples lives, both physically and spiritually.
Their wives were just as strong and as committed. They did all of the above–except the softball–so I will not retype the list. They formed babysitting partnerships so that all the women were able to have some free time for themselves and to do their household chores. I think all but one had chosen to stay home with their young children, at least during their most important early formational years, and they supported one another in that choice, and made that choice a workable alternative. Like all Armed Forces wives, they knew that a call could come at any moment that would leave them alone for a time, and they were prepared for that. They also saved lives, for, by and large, their children all grew up to follow our Lord, as did several of their neighbors, whom they reached.
Theirs was not the easy Christianity of the inner healing and the constant attending of conferences. Oh, yes, they did receive inner healing if they needed it, and they were humble enough to ask for it. No, theirs was a tough outward looking Christianity that made no excuses, yet accepted and forgave as necessary. Theirs was a Christianity that was oriented towards mutual service and mutual support without forgetting the outsider. I can remember one of the men stopping at a park to talk to someone who was drunk, then calling me over after a while to share Jesus with him. As I said they were the gentlest of men with the biggest of hearts. And, ultimately, they put their lives on the line for people they did not even know.
Their motto is Semper Paratus which means, “always ready.” 1 Peter 3:15-16 says, “But sanctify the Lord God in your hearts, and always be ready to give a defense to everyone who asks you a reason for the hope that is in you, with meekness and fear; having a good conscience, that when they defame you as evildoers, those who revile your good conduct in Christ may be ashamed.” These were men and women whose life example was, in itself, a defense. And, I think all of those men and women could also give a verbal defense. But, their verbal defense without their life example would not have had the same impact.
In previous posts I have been talking about justification, salvation, and works. But, I thought in this post that I could do no better than to honor those men and women that I knew at that Coast Guard station. They are one of the best examples I know of, “Show me your faith apart from your works, and I will show you my faith by my works,” James 2:18.
May God grant them many years!
Beautiful post. Wish I knew them.
The point seemingly is …’be doers of the Word.’ God compelled me to retire from teaching early because there is an urgency concerning the ‘harvest.’ As Christians here in the Southern Bible Belt ….our tradition is more ‘hearing’ than ‘doing’ the Word. But the harvest is close to being lost. If there ever was a time for ‘doing’……IT IS NOW.
The urgent cries from Elias are going forth, “Prepare ye the way of the Lord.” Elias remains the forerunner…and he is preparing ‘those who loves His appearing’ for the Second Coming of our King Jesus.