Did you see the interview
that Prince Harry gave from Afghanistan, broadcast at the end of his deployment
as a soldier there? It was interesting
to catch a glimpse of this ‘playboy’ prince in his camouflage uniform, poised
at a moment’s notice to put himself in mortal danger. It is good to know that he is back home
again, and we pray that all serving there will return home just as safely.
The war
in Afghanistan has caused Christians great concern. Many believers would take a pacifist stance
toward any war, especially one which seems to be so far away and so unconnected
with British life. They would argue from
Scripture that all war is wrong and that Christians should campaign against it. Pacificism has a long and honourable
Christian tradition.
Other
Christians would take a different view, arguing, from
Scripture, that in some circumstances it is right for countries, and even
Christians, to take up arms against evil.
Through history, there has been an equally strong Christian doctrine of
the ‘just war’. For those of us who hold
such a view, however, the war in Afghanistan has caused us almost as many
problems as it does the pacifist, particularly when we consider what might end
up as the government of the country in the future. Perhaps it will be many years before we can
truly tell whether such fears were groundless.
We
struggle with war because all war involves killing people, and Prince Harry
openly acknowledged that. When asked
directly if he had been involved in such killing he was frank;
"Yeah, so lots of people have. The squadron's
been out here. Everyone's fired a certain amount… We fire when we have to, take
a life to save a life…”
It was
the last part of that quote that struck me particularly. When the pressure is on, and a soldier’s
finger is on the trigger, that is what goes through his mind. It must have been the same for those who
fought in previous wars. They thought of
their own life and those of the fellow soldiers with whom they served – take a
life to save a life. Or perhaps they
thought of families and friends back at home who might face danger if they
didn’t succeed – take a life to save a life.
But as
a Christian, when I heard those words I thought of the Lord Jesus Christ. His life could be summed up slightly
differently – Give a life to save many lives.
It was one of his enemies who counselled that “one man should die for the people, and not that the whole nation
should perish” (John 11:50).
Caiaphas spoke more truly than he realised. Jesus gave his life that others might be
saved. Because He willingly went to the
cross, you and I can be rescued from our sin and the wrath of a holy God. As one of the hymns we sing says, he “gave
His life that we might live. This is our
God, the servant King”
The One the Bible calls the Prince of Life, calls us
now to follow Him!
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