press on

"Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things....put it into practice. And the God of peace will be with you."
(Phil. 4:8-9)

General Thomas J. "Stonewall" Jackson was immensely fond of pushing his troops into the fray of battle by encouraging them with cries of "Press on! Press on!" And indeed, the call of action we read in this letter to the church at Philippi by Paul is his own proclamation of "Press on!"

Pressing on into the battle is something that cannot be taken lightly. Casualties are just as sure to happen as are moments of confusion, doubt, and surprise attacks. To say that we are not actively in a state of war would only be defending your position with lies. The words of Paul cannot be ignored: "The world is unprincipled. It's dog-eat-dog out there! The world doesn't fight fair. But we don't live or fight our battles that way—never have and never will. The tools of our trade aren't for marketing or manipulation, but they are for demolishing that entire massively corrupt culture. We use our powerful God-tools for smashing warped philosophies, tearing down barriers erected against the truth of God, fitting every loose thought and emotion and impulse into the structure of life shaped by Christ. (2 Cor. 10.3-5)" We will suffer for Christ. We will take hits for him. We will bleed. Knowing that then, what must our attitude be?

Our attitude must be a proactive want that God bless our lives so much people will talk about what He is doing. That means we must actively give Him our best in every area. If we are successful in the fruits of our labor, we praise Him. And if our fruits turn more to raisins, we praise Him. Either way we honor Him with our actions and our attitudes. So what then do we do to make our life on the battlefield worth living - and possibly dying - for? It is a conscious resolution to give God everything we have, then leave all the results up to Him.

Winning a battle here and there and only living for the momentary may have won an occasional campaign or two - but that attitude has never won a war. And pressing on in such a spiritual war must have the latter tactical option than the former. Anything less that seeking overall total victory is too small a thing to live for. 

"Be very careful, then, how you live—not as unwise but as wise, making the most of every opportunity, because the days are evil."

(Eph. 5:15-16)