Keep on the Firing Line!

Last updated on: July 12, 2017 at 11:37 am by John Mark N. Reynolds

Keep on the Firing Line! 2017-07-12T11:37:05-04:00 John Mark N. Reynolds

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Let’s never be sad sacks, instead find where God has put us and keep on the firing line.

If the enemy distracts, stand.

If we feel discouraged, stand.

If our heart is weary, stand.

Thank God for this time, for God’s church, and for this nation. When called to a place and time, even when we do not like that place or time, we must keep on the firing line.

What does that mean?

The “firing line” is where we take attacks from the world, the flesh, and the devil, but where we can also fire back! This is the place where we should want to be: in the thick of the action, doing our duty, and fighting for justice.

This is not to minimize our problems, they are real, but to look up, cheerfully smile, take hope, and do our duty. There is no virtue in grim, joyless, exaggeration of problems. We must do our jobs, so we could choose to do so joylessly, but that is not useful. Move forward and practice justice.

If we can move forward with wisdom, virtue, and joy we will, but in the meantime let’s be trustworthy to our calling. We will not cease from mental fight nor shall the sword rest in our hand.

I thought about this when getting some wisdom from my dad, a wise man with decades of watching and traveling the world.

Dad said to me:

Without compromising essential truths and virtues, we must deal with where we are. The world is not ideal by any means! Daniel had to live in Babylon. Moses grew up in Egypt. St. Paul and the early Church lived under Rome. The Church through much of its existence has had to live in cultures that opposed and persecuted, or at best just tolerated her. Sometimes she suffered martyrdom. Sometimes she compromised her essence to fit into the culture. This was more dangerous to the life of the Church than martyrdom. I am not advocating this kind of accommodation. We need the Lord to give us wisdom to know how we should live in these perilous times. The good news is that there are millions of us who love the Lord of HIStory and stand for His Kingdom and believe in the ultimate victory of our King!

Gird on the Sword of the Spirit and fight the good fight. If you can get it, you might listen to Keep on the Firing Line. As I mentioned, Grandpa Reynolds’ last report to (his ministerial) conference was, “still on the firing line for God.”

That was in September and he died in December, 1945.

Listen to the words:

Never run or even run behind . . . . and

A coward in the service will find no place. . . and

If you die afighting it’s no disgrace

So keep on the firing line!

Dad is right: no accommodation to evil, but also no sad sack “we are doomed.” Instead, we stand where God has put us, do the work God has given us to do, with wisdom, virtue, and joy. The song is right: God uses soldiers He can trust. Let’s be trustworthy to our calling.

God help me if my great-grandfather could die saying “keep on the firing line,” then I can live in service to God.”

By God’s grace, I will live afighting . . . and so find grace in the eyes of the Lord.

Let’s work while it is still day!

——-

*My favorite version of Keep on the Firing Line is by the Carter family.

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