12. Report to the Front
– ANY FRONT! Once a Christian has received basic training and is practicing the skills learned, he or she soon realizes that being called is like being "called up" in a time of war - training may continue, but once basic preparation is accomplished, we are needed on the front lines.
Militarily, of course, a "front" or "battlefront' is the contested frontier between opposing forces, such as the "Western Front" in Europe during World Wars I and II. The front is where the opposing sides meet head on, and in Christian terms it's where the struggle to do good occurs.
In one sense, we all fight on our own front in the struggles we undergo in our own lives, but we should never stop there. That is the equivalent of being pinned down by the enemy in our own local bunker or foxhole - we have to be able to participate in the larger front if progress is to be made. Think how different modern history would be if the Allied troops who overthrew the terror of Nazism in the Second World War had only concentrated on staying put and surviving on the beaches of Normandy, France, where they first came in contact with the enemy. It is only because those soldiers realized they were part of a connected front and pushed themselves to advance that the evils of Nazism were finally overcome.
That understanding applies directly to us in our lives, too. It's easy to settle into a safe, comfortable routine of Christian life which is satisfied with prayer, Bible study and going to church and occasionally helping out in local church or community projects. These things are all vital, but they are at best the safe and secure "home front." Our calling is really to move beyond that.
It is often said that Jesus just concentrated on the problems in his immediate vicinity – helping those he actually came in contact with. That's only true to a point. He certainly did help those around him, but he fought on a much greater front – his sacrifice was the victory in a battle that affected all of humanity for all time – the largest front possible! And his parting words to his disciples were not to "stay safe in the bunkers" but to go and do the work he had given them to do in all the world (Acts 1:7-8).
Today, there are many fronts we can join, and in this modern age we can often fight on multiple fronts, even distant ones, without ever leaving our own neighborhood. How about the front of slavery, where it still exists? What about the front of human trafficking and the child sex trade? Persecution and refugees? Malnutrition and starvation? Medical help for illness and deformity? Substance abuse and addiction? Gangs? All these fronts and many more exist in addition to the primary front of getting the truth to a world lost in its own darkness.
There are really so many fronts where we are needed that it is impossible to serve on them all – but in addition to the good we try to do in our own neighborhoods, among the people whom we meet and interact with each day, we can all choose one or more fronts where we can fight and make a difference. Think of it this way, at the end of the war – the end of our individual lives – do we want to look back and realize that we used our training only to help people get rides to church – or do we want to know that we played a part, no matter how small, on some vital front in the relief of human suffering and the growth of the Kingdom of God?
There are so many worthwhile fronts – so many battles we can join where a difference can be made. All we need do is commit ourselves to a front and then educate ourselves as to what can be done – physically as well as spiritually – to serve there. The main thing is that we move beyond training, get out of our personal bunkers, and report to the front – any front!