2023-01-29 A Meditation on Gideon’s Men
“To this end we always pray for you, that our God may make you worthy of his calling and may fulfill every resolve for good and every work of faith by his power,” (2 Th 1:11 ESV)
Like Gideon’s men, the soldier pauses to drink from the fount; the soldier is queried as to how exactly he thus drinks (Jdg 7). Some were destined to fight the war as front line soldiers. Others remained amongst those served by this warrior class. Therefore it is an honor thus to be called to the front lines (cf. Dt 24:5); we long to serve in God’s army.
Like Gideon’s men we may merge our faith with our own two cents, our watchfulness, our sense of watery nurture in season being no occasion to forget our own vigilance. Therefore the drinking waters, florid and multitudinous, are fresh every morning. Those who kneel down to drink are not watching at quite the same echelon. They are a little more cozy with the good gifts God has given. They are not the proud and the few, who lap the water from cupped hand, eyes glancing off this way and that; it is these Gideon is instructed to bring to the battle, these three hundred.
So we are creatures of contributory faith. We contribute our testimony as to how we were lagging in righteousness. Yes, on some level brave and heroic, but all of us on some level timid: we go to the bunker under heavy attack from above, whilst still being cautious around the social gathering, the liaison with members of the opposite sex (or of the same sex); we feel ineffective at teaching the children when thus called, but can stare down a missile battery. We feel unable to explain with any eloquence to aging parents just how we do love and honor them, yet can save the entire family from a suicide bomber uncovered at a checkpoint. We are the brave.
The waters are the gospel that remains fresh each day, because we have not taken any poison pill nor aped our eyes at unillustrious alternatives. Some visibles try to wreak havoc on faith, so long as we remain concerned at the tremulous, cautious, vulnerable nature of our spider’s web of belief. But when we face the day with courage, we no longer fear to be thus hindered. No intake can alter the bedrock change effected in our hearts; what comes out of our mouth, not what goes into our being, is what judges us: “There is nothing outside a person that by going into him can defile him, but the things that come out of a person are what defile him.”” (Mk 7:15).
Therefore we are a proud crew, if only it be understood all things are good when once called unto the Lord’s army. We are proud of our calling, so long as it is understood that such pride manifests itself in the helping hand extended, in the contrite heart inspiring, in the modest personal presence healing. Yes, our modesty of impact does encourage each and every one to face that duality, that paradox: God’s fighters are a patient and gentle bunch. They are wise to the war, and as such are bold to announce the simple confidences that these our people are true dependents, charges, kinfolk in the spirit, those for whom we fight and face the warring day.