Wounds of the faithful

2 Thessalonians 3:3 (NLT)

3 But the Lord is faithful; he will strengthen you and guard you from the evil one.

In the beginning of this chapter the apostle asks for prayer from the church that the Lord’s message would be delivered; that it would be spread and honored; that those Christians in bondage to wicked and evil people will be rescued. Then the apostle reminds them that whatever their efforts may be; the Lord is faithful and will strengthen and guard his flock from evil.

[In his novel Ah, But Your Land Is Beautiful, Alan Paton tells the story of Robert Mansfield, the headmaster of a school in South Africa during the days of apartheid, a cruel system of racial segregation. When Mansfield's school was barred from competing against a black school, he finally took a stand against apartheid and resigned his post. A friend said to him, "You know you will be wounded. Do you know that?"

Mansfield replied, pointing to heaven, "When I go up there … the Big Judge will say to me, 'Where are your wounds?' If I say I haven't any, he will say, 'Was there nothing to fight for?' I couldn't face that question." [Alan Paton, Ah, But Your Land Is Beautiful (Scribner, 1996), pp. 66-67]]

For those that have faith and believe The Lord will be with them wherever they go. They may still suffer wounds as they fight against evil, but the wounds are reminders of battles fought and won. They are reminders that God was with them. They are reminders they fought for a good cause.

As I read Robert Mansfield’s words I thought there is plenty to fight for here in this world. There is civil unrest. There are wars that keep appearing. There is poverty around the world. There are those who are ill and are not being cared for. There are those who have never experienced God or the Salvation of His Son Jesus Christ. Yes, there is plenty to fight for and that is what God made us for – to fight those battles for Him.