Wounded in battle

  It has been said that Christians are the only ones who will shoot their wounded.

  Have you found this to be true? Have you trampled on someone who was wounded in the Christian fight?

  We must define terms here. What does a "wounding" look like?

  Perhaps it is someone who is fighting a disease. I know Christians who despise those who fall ill. Especially when those who are sick have a mental illness. People who get sick as Christians often get prayer and love. But there are some who believe that sickness is a lack of faith. 

  What about those who get wounded because of their sin? (Strap on yer seatbelt, its gonna get rough up ahead). Imagine this, your fellow soldier has failed. Perhaps in the heat of battle he ran away. Perhaps he became a traitor. Maybe he shot at other soldiers. He was a horrible soldier and you just know it! Maybe he was never a "Christian soldier" at all. That slimeball!

  The key to solving the problem of shooting our wounded is repentance. If our fallen brother is repentant how many times should we forgive him? Don't answer that too quickly! Be honest, you don't want to forgive a brother who really blows it! Don't quote Bible verses like platitudes, what do you actually do?

  It is much easier to shoot the wounded. No sacrifice. No pain. We are a point and click generation. Point - click - problem solved.

  Let me point out something that our military learned. Our standard round for the AR-15 is .223. It is a very small caliber weapon. It is specifically used because it wounds the enemy with less chance of killing them. A wounded enemy will require the assistance of medics. Thus, one wounded soldier takes out three soldiers. Brilliant!

   However, if our enemies treated their wounded as some in the church treats our wounded, the wounded soldier would be shot in the back and disposed of, or left to suffer and die in their wounds.

  Let me paint a scenario:

   Suppose for a moment that someone in your church went and killed someone while driving drunk. It comes out that this "Christian" had been drinking heavily for years. In fact, he had been in "accidents" before. Somehow this person had still managed to "look good" on the outside. Nobody had a clue.

  The person awakens to the horror of his sin and repents. But how can you know for sure he repented? He fooled you before, right? And what about those poor peoples lives that were damaged. No amount of repentance can fix that situation. Can we truly expect God to transform someone who was "a brother" yet failed so dramatically?

  The choice is yours dear friend. Kneel down and help apply bandages, or point and click. What's it going to be? 

  Let me encourage you to become a medic. Help heal the wounded, even when their wounds are self inflicted. Perhaps you know someone who fell. Perhaps the fall was disgusting, heartbreaking, or perverted. Will you help them recover? Are you strong enough to shoulder the wounded and take them to the infirmary?