Marching for the Heavenly
John dreams the impossible dream: “These are united in yielding their power and authority to the beast; they will make war on the Lamb, and the Lamb will conquer them, for he is Lord of lords and King of kings, and those with him are called and chosen and faithful.” (Revelation 17:1-14 NRSV).
It is great to be on a winning team or involved in anything successful. In the natural life, winning teams eventually get beat and have losing streaks. We can’t predict how things will come out in the natural life. In the kingdom of God, it is different. The Revelation to John that the Lamb is the coming king symbolizes our hope.
God has ultimate control over everything. After all He created all things. He has the first and the last word, but what about the in between part? The part where He allows us free will and waits for us to follow Him. We can never really get away from Him, and like a patient parent, He watches to see what fruit we will bear. We have a great responsibility in the new life in Christ Jesus. As members of the army of the Lamb of God, we must battle for the conversion of our brothers and sisters. In the natural world, where God allows free will, God chooses to act through us. He reveals himself through us.
If we are not willing to be used by Him, the world suffers. Others watch us. If we yield our power and authority that He has given us to the beast, others will follow. We become defectors in the army of the Lamb. God loves all of His children and encourages each of us to love each other as He loves us.
As the Body of Christ we must mobilize in our various communities to become the Christian soldiers we are meant to be. God is in charge, but He has given us control of one thing. That one thing is our ability to choose whether or not to seek Him and His will.
Are we ready to follow the conquering Lamb? Are we willing to be loyal troops? Are we ready to accept the responsibility that He has given us; the responsibility to bring others to Him?
He needs us in this world to help proclaim His kingdom. St. Paul was a tireless First Sergeant for the Lord. Are we with him? Have we answered God’s call as being chosen? Are we faithful? How is the Army of the Lamb looking these days?
Robert Halsey Pine was born at Newark, Ohio in 1943. He is a graduate of Northeastern University and completed the program of Theological Education by Extention: Education for Ministry, School of Theology, the University of the South.