The Price Of War
The U.S. just went to war with Iran in the past few months. Is the war over? What did the war accomplish for the future? These are questions nobody can answer for sure. But there is one question that we all have an answer for. “Who pays the price of war?”
It is the U.S. soldiers in the ships and in the air, working extra shifts and risking their lives to bring peace to a violent region. It is the Iranian citizens, suffering food, energy, and internet shortages as they wait for deliverance from their present oppression. It is the countless sailors on merchant vessels stranded on either side of the Strait of Hormuz. It is the civilians in Kuwait, Iraq, and other Gulf States that have been terrorized by military aggression against civilian targets. It is the U.S. taxpayer burdened with additional military debt from the expenditure of countless sorties and high-priced munitions. It is the citizens of our country and civilians around the world struggling to pay the higher prices at the pump. And it is ultimately the 15 U.S. soldiers who gave their lives for their nation and its cause along with their families that suffer from the loss.
The same is true with our battle to take the gospel around the world. Do not forget, the gospel message is not a game that can be played casually, like a game of chess or Risk, with nothing to lose but a little pride. The gospel message is a real-life battle that brings salvation and eternal life to those who believe and punishment and eternal death to those who never hear or refuse. With this in mind, “Who pays the price of the gospel war?”
It is the missionaries who give their lives to go overseas, choosing to leave their culture behind to take the gospel to those who have never heard. It is the people in foreign lands, suffering in front of the pulpits of false teachers and false prophets, waiting to hear the truth of God’s word. It is the faithful churches, taking up tithes and offerings to help finance the battle for truth by providing money for lodging, travel, tracts, charity, and other ministry resources. It is the people in the pew who pray daily and give sacrificially so that others can take God’s word to those in the dark. And it is ultimately the life of Christ, who died on the cross and rose again to give our sinful world a guaranteed way to salvation and eternal life.
The cost of the gospel war is great with a price that every believer has a part to pay. Which part will you pay?
“And Jesus came and spoke to them, saying, ‘All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age. Amen.’”