mission over man

I was watching one of the enormous battle scenes from the "Lord of the Rings" movie series the other night with my daughter.  Before the fight began the "good guys" knew that there would be many casualties.  In fact, the king acknowledged that they had very little chance of winning, but that they would ride into the fight anyhow.  It was their only hope.  Then last night I watched a World War II movie called "U-571".  The dramatic victory for the good guys in that story came when a young sailor sacrificed his life intentionally to turn one last valve and permit his submarine to fire the torpedo that saved his shipmates.  It occurred to me that the only way victory is possible in the difficult fights is when "mission" becomes more important than our individual lives and we see beyond our personal safety.  We have a great mission as children of the Lord.  We are truly wrapped up in the great battle of the ages...right vs. wrong, eternal life vs. death, the forces of God vs. the forces of Satan, light vs. darkness in our culture.  Perhaps it is also true that we must capture a vision of our mission...a mission that is bigger than our individual lives and a mission that was chartered by the Captain of Life when He laid down His own life.  Perhaps once that mission becomes dearer than our lives we will give our lives to it.  The mission is greater than any man and yet the mission calls for ordinary people like you and me! Deuteronomy 20:1 "When you go out to battle against your enemies, and see horses and chariots and people more numerous than you, do not be afraid of them; for the LORD your God is with you, who brought you up from the land of Egypt." blessings, Rob Smith