“32 And what more shall I say? For time would fail me to tell of Gideon, Barak, Samson, Jephthah, of David and Samuel and the prophets— 33 who through faith conquered kingdoms, enforced justice, obtained promises, stopped the mouths of lions, 34 quenched the power of fire, escaped the edge of the sword, were made strong out of weakness, became mighty in war, put foreign armies to flight. 35 Women received back their dead by resurrection. Some were tortured, refusing to accept release, so that they might rise again to a better life. 36 Others suffered mocking and flogging, and even chains and imprisonment. 37 They were stoned, they were sawn in two, they were killed with the sword. They went about in skins of sheep and goats, destitute, afflicted, mistreated— 38 of whom the world was not worthy—wandering about in deserts and mountains, and in dens and caves of the earth. 39 And all these, though commended through their faith, did not receive what was promised, 40 since God had provided something better for us, that apart from us they should not be made perfect.” (Hebrews 11:32-40 ESV)

The Framework of that Perceived, Created, Attitudinal soldier’s prerogative, outlay, duty: this specialization of each to their own, makes each Erratically-imagined but Dutifully-Heard, as calm and composed Armies of One, who in this Army lean heavily on Oneness with spirit, rather than any gladsome welcome home or discharge to the front line. We are One in Together-but-unspoken Duty, in wild-eyed Anticipatory frontline senses and duties, in getting by with a little oxygen spared in our direction, by the unspoken other “friends” on the frontline, never seen but for Real, as our own wild-eyed Reality Unspoken tempts and leaves unto Despair or Silent Wonder.

We are trying our best to see havoc where the world churns along, each participant, each credentialed ones, somehow… are they Compromised in their moral outlay, to be peace and prosperity with a society rotten to the core? Or are these the saints in the land, who work clear-eyed despite the Sanctions and Compromises? It’s very interesting when we discover our own Christian, Soldiering “Calling” and give thanks that, ultimate wealth and good name for ourself minus, not engaged, notwithstanding, the comfort zones that Still we count ourselves the Fortunate Ones in the land. Who give thanks. Who rise up. Who Change without appreciation or right-minded Gratitude.

Such is the Soldier’s vision of Today’s Outlay: a society rebuked, rotten to the core, even, yet all this beheld only in the eyes of One, of Ourselves, of One and Solo soldier. Who then goes Frantic around coalescing to the simpler Duties of social engagement, because… because she or he is third-eye, peering from a distance, lazy or half-asleep (restful, rightly so) in the quieter banter, but Alert and Strikingly Accurate in the long vision, the wakeful Duty and Commission.

Such is our own Outlay as those Consecrated (set apart) to go farther than our forebearers, but only because we stand on the shoulders of giants. Such is our own Outlay to reflect on the maddening Absence of a proper declaration of activity, of war, of Commissioned Duty, when we go to the frontline already and Now. We have become victims of malaise, of silent chugging along, a society Broken and unable to Assuage. We have in this become Radicalized around the Cross, Radicalized around Togetherness unimitated or unknown in even the best Histories. We see each other aging, but all is Existential and Now: we are not Dying but Transcending to a better Tomorrow. We are not Compromised but dastardly active in our Army of One mentality. And that malaise, that self-doubt, that simple Frustration or Regret-Zones: these we yield to not for a second, because we Remember that the sleepiness is due to our enemy backing down a bit, thanks to our earlier Sojourn and Presence on the Frontlines. So we do not lose heart, but fight the Enemy Within, during this off-time: tomorrow will be just as Evidential and Real around imposition and attack, that we do well now to scurry and worry and Prep, overwhelmed by the odds against us but also existential around the Possibilities of a Unified Front, something Greater than Ourselves. This unified front is our Sanctification in the name of Christ’s Holy Spirit. This unified front is our man-who-carries-the-burden, like David did against Goliath, like Gideon did against the Midianites, like Joshua against the Amalekites. Each side knows the pinch of war, and longs for the diplomatic Peace that sees simpler counterattacks and dialogs played out with a greater Fairness. Each side knows the impossibly-harrowing Reality of life on the frontline, and the hundred-year-war that followed the German Reformation.