I was
ready to serve him
with everything that
I had… Finally
I was free from my
hopeless existence,
I was now full of vision
and purpose! I always
wanted to know why
I had been
born. At last it all
made sense! We had
been created in God’s
own image in order to
reveal His character
to the world! Of course
we could never do it
if love had not first
been
shown to us. So there
it was, I could read
all about the love
of God in the Bible.
Jesus* was just the
man I would
follow anywhere. He was
clearly calling His
disciples out of society
and into the new way
of life that would
transcend
this world and its passing
ways.
Whatever words of Jesus that were unclear to me were 
further
explained by the apostles Paul, Peter, and John (those
who knew Him personally). These men had apparently given
everything they had in order to build His kingdom on earth.
I wanted to do the same! I could feel the excitement in
Paul’s
words as he laboriously groped to convey the awesome magnitude
of what God had done for us. Always exhorting us to be “good
soldiers” for Christ, Paul painted
a detailed picture of a life full of love and total devotion! I couldn’t
wait to experience this vibrant life together with all those who believed.
Unfortunately, it was obvious to me that much of what
was professed to be from Jesus was nothing more than the
same old religious hypocrisy rampant in His day. By the
words of the Teacher himself, there would be many insincere
people claiming to be His disciples. Yet soon, I found
myself intimately involved in a variety of Christian
ministries among a multitude of denominations. With zeal
I gave myself to the distribution of food to the poor
and service of the saints. I attended several different
Bible studies every week, eagerly anticipating the moment
we would all just “cast off” everything that
hindered us from really living out the gospel. We were
always reading and talking about love and forgiveness.
We would study how, why, and to whom the scriptures were written. We even spoke
of how Jesus was going to “rapture” his people from the earth at
any given moment. We talked and studied a lot.
“The ministry” always focused on “more
believers,” but
somehow the substance of life together was missing. Attending weekend church
services and weekly Bible studies had a form of fellowship, but seemed to deny
the power to really love. Long, “in-depth” studies and sermons
were informative and all, but I just wanted to serve my new King in the midst
of his people, to simply obey His commands and suffer together alongside my
brothers. Yet, I was still just trying to make a living, and put myself through
college like everyone else my age.
The “Church” didn’t really seem to have
any concrete solutions to life’s very real problems.
I knew Jesus was “the Way,” but “Church” often
seemed to be more of a country club for people who were content with this life.
I was tired of playing Church and pretending that everything was just all right.
I had to do something real. I knew that I had to serve somehow and that servants
suffer to do good. So I joined the United States Army.
As a bond servant of the United States Army, I made my
confession and was immediately “baptized” into
a new way of life, a new culture. Military culture. My rights as “Joe
Citizen” under
the U.S. Constitution were replaced by those of “GI Joe” under
the Uniform Code of Military Justice. The President was now my king, and my “chain
of command” allowed me to understand the authority under which I stood.
On top of the “general
orders” which
should never be broken,
our commander gave
us specific orders,
demanding absolute
obedience to his word,
ensuring a complete
victory over the enemy.
So many were these
various commands
that virtually all of my time was spent
either carrying them
out or preparing for
the next one. A soldier
wasn’t
caught up in the affairs of civilian life
— the military was a culture “set
apart” for a special purpose.
I was no longer “I,” but I was now “we.” For
there is no “I” in “Team.” I was
now a part of something greater than myself. Any personal
agenda that I had must first submit to the greater needs
of my country. I no longer had to worry about what I should
eat or what I should wear, for the Army cares for its own.
Food, clothing, and shelter were part of the contract.
Anything more than my basic necessities could be purchased
from the Post Exchange with money that was allotted to me for my service, or
could be ordered through appropriate channels. I would never have to earn my
own living. Working a side job in order to provide for my own food, clothing,
and shelter, spending hours a week shopping for my own groceries and personal
supplies, laboring every day in my own kitchen, fixing my own meals with my
own tiny little pots and pans would be a complete waste
of government time and money. These things would distract
me from doing my part in building up the “body” of
the Army. I was finally free to only serve my country!
You see, other soldiers who were not serving in the same “combat arms” unit
as I was were also busy day and night, building tents, cooking food, fitting
boots, sewing uniforms, trucking bullets, making bombs, testing equipment,
plotting routes, scouting territory, raising flags, scrubbing tile, buffing
floors, shining boots, pushing up, pulling up, running, screaming, digging,
teaching, training, and recruiting for the sole purpose of supporting those
of us on the battlefield, that we might be completely engaged in warfare
with NO DISTRACTIONS WHATSOEVER…
My duty was to become efficient with my comrades (through
the tight bond of military life and service) in accomplishing
whatever task was before us. We’d eat
together, work together, rest together, fight together, laugh together, and
cry together. Whatever we did, we did it together as
one man.
Oh, how I had longed to be in such unity with my Christian
friends. Why couldn’t
the Church learn from such an example? If the Army was capable of bringing
about such unity through mere human will, why could not
the “people of God” be
even more united through faith in the One who had laid his life down for that
very purpose? I had always wondered why the so-called Church was so divided,
unable to bring about any “unity of the spirit in the bond of peace.”
It was so clear from the scriptures that the unity that comes from true love
would allow the world to know that God loves to save his people from their
sins. Yet, there was no visible proof that God even sent His Son into the world
at all. Where was the resurrected life I had been told about countless times?
I had read and heard enough. Now I needed to see and experience the reality
of this transcending life. I was determined to find God’s Army!
One day I finally stumbled upon a people who had truly
surrendered all to their King Yahshua. I joined my heart
and my life to them and their God. Together we’ve
obeyed His commands to forsake everything and love each other just as he loves
us. To be His disciple means to actually “come out” from civilian
affairs (the things of this world) and out of the camp of organized religion
(Christianity) into the place where His Spirit dwells — the place
where brothers and sisters dwell together in unity! Together, we overcome
all the enemies of our God &emdash; those selfish thoughts, desires and inclinations
that have destroyed relationships and marred the name of our God since the
beginning.
Now we are inviting
everyone to come and
see this wonderful
life 
we
have together as we
obey the Son of God.
We are becoming a special
people for God’s
own possession — a
new set-apart culture
founded on self-sacrificing
love, one for another.
The life of men and
women set free from
the bondage of sin
in order to live together
in unity
is the joy that was
set before our Master
Yahshua, which gave
Him the courage to
fight the good fight. Come
and be a part of
the army He is gathering
in these last days!
Joseph
Ephesians 4:3
John 17:20-23
John 13:34-35
2 Timothy 2:4; 1 John 2:15-17
Hebrews 13:12-13
Psalm 133
Hebrews 12:2; Isaiah 53:10-11
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