Guard Duty 24-7 I have spent a lifetime on guard duty, having performed this service for the Chesterfield County Sheriff’s Office for the better part of 23 years. Anytime you serve in a uniform, you are constantly aware of your surroundings, as if you are the person doing battle against evil with no rest for the weary. Even though I never spent much time patrolling the streets, I did walk the dark hallways of the Chesterfield County Jail, making sure that evil stayed where it needed to be, behind the dark walls, so that no one else could be harmed. Now that my son patrols the streets of the same county, I worry that evil may be lurking around his next turn. We all have a shift to be on guard duty. Regardless of our chosen profession, we are all a member of God’s army, patrolling our grounds to make sure evil does not attack. “Therefore humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you at the proper time, casting all your anxiety on Him, because He cares for you. Be of sober spirit, be on the alert. Your adversary, the devil, prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour. But resist him, firm in your faith, knowing that the same experiences of suffering are being accomplished by your brethren who are in the world.” 1 Peter 5:6-9(NASB) As Christians, we all have the responsibility to stand our ground and patrol our lives, being ready to battle evil when we are called to do so. This evil can take many shapes and forms, and can strike when we least expect it. It can even come in the dark of night when we are sleeping, only to awakened to a much different world. It seems that this is evil’s preferred mode of operation, making its presence known in our darkest days, or when we are not taking proper measures to conduct our “guard duty” as we should. This tends to happen when we get a false feeling of hope, or a masked feeling of things being alright, despite the obvious signs pointing in the opposite direction. What could be hopeful about a world that turns it head to the obvious? What could be alright about the problems of hunger and poverty when we, as a society, have the wealth to wipe out these things? The only thing that is made obvious is our lack of concern for those who need it. The one thing missing is our ability to stand guard over a world that feels it needs no protection. We have become so overconfident in our abilities that we feel there is no need to worry because things are going so good for us. Have you ever stopped to think that there may be more to it than your own concerns for safety, your own fear of things that “go bump in the night?” There are fellow human beings in this world, even in our own back yard, who are in mortal fear for their lives. It could be from hunger, from poverty, from crime or merely from the loneliness of not knowing Christ. As members of God’s army, we need to take up our arms and start patrolling His world. We are the only thing that will keep evil away, but if we are not remaining alert over this threat, we are not doing out duty. Be on guard, serving in a way that patrols our world, even after dark, 24-7. “in the world, not of the world”
Posted on: Wed, 31 Jul 2013 15:25:11 +0000
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