I once visited the Vietnam War Museum in Vietnam.
Every possible event with the Vietnam War was presented from the perspective of the Vietnamese. War is horrible, but I have never before seen this perspective that discredits the U.S. and paints a horrible picture of the American soldier.
I personally felt like they cast me, a Vietnam War veteran, as someone in charge of a merciless prison camp and committed heinous war crimes.
The hardest parts for me were the quotes from leaders, pictures of men burning their draft cards, and the artifacts of thousands of people calling to the American people to rally against our government.
Most startling was the documentation of Lieutenant Calley, who executed a village of innocent people because his commanding officer ordered him to take no prisoners.
This display reminded me of a time when my commanding officer ordered me to discard of the wounded Viet Cong. My men encouraged me not to do it, and I listened to them, disobeying my field orders.
I cannot imagine how my Christian life would have been impacted if I’d gone through with my commanding officer’s orders. God’s grace and presence were so real in that moment, and I am so thankful that He triumphed over my heart. He spared me from guilt. Instead, we carried the wounded Viet Cong to a chopper to be taken to the medical area. I checked on the men a few days later, and there was no record that they ever arrived.
In Vietnam, there was a war filled with bullets and death, but there is another war—a cosmic war—that is raging around us today. Its fight is for the hearts and minds of men and women, and this war is filled with infinitely more consequences.
My daily mission in the Vietnam War was referred to as a “search and destroy” mission that revolved around finding the enemy and destroying them. In contrast, our mission as good soldiers of Christ Jesus is called a “seek and save” mission.
Our Commanding Officer—Jesus Christ—tells us that His mission is “‘to seek and to save the lost (Luke 19:10).’”
War isn’t won by retreating. It’s won by being on the offensive, never on the defensive. This means that we are constantly seeking out those who need to hear the message of Christ and His redeeming love.
Brothers and sisters, if you are in Christ Jesus, you exist for the purpose of seeking and saving the lost. Every child of the living God is called to participate in an all-out frontal assault on the kingdom of darkness—wherever, however, and whenever Christ takes up residence in our lives.
Our Father longs for the Body of Jesus to be proactive in playing our part in storming the gates of Hell that blind the hearts and minds of the lost around us. Yes, war is messy, but the fruit of victory is eternal and everlasting.
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FaithJohn Maisel
John's travels for ministry behind the Iron Curtain led him to found East-West Ministries International in 1993. John and his wife, Susie, live in Dallas, Texas and have a grown daughter and two grandchildren.