The Wounded Soldier

Boom! That was the sound of another mine exploding barely thirty feet away.
The sheer impact of it shook the ground and sent debris and hundreds of sharp-edged, fist-sized rocks  flying in all directions, with some landing painfully on some of the soldiers.
The men of the 7th platoon were stationed behind the trenches awaiting the signal from the Lieutenant to open fire on the enemy.
It had been a long battle and by now, many of them were starting to grow tired. Many had been killed in the battle and even many more were injured, some mutilated for life.
Sergeant Sam was one of those who'd just been hit by one of those heavy rocks and he was immediately overwhelmed with fear, because he thought instinctively that he'd been shot. He grabbed his left arm, wincing in pain, and signalled over one of his comrades; Sergeant Tom who came to his side immediately. They both examined his bleeding arm and confirmed; much to Sam's relief that he'd only been hit by a rock. Phew!
Just then they heard in their ear pieces, the Lieutenant's command to attack.
Instantly, they and five other platoons all opened fire.  The battle field came alive with the sound of over two hundred M250G machine guns firing at the enemy. The enemy also opened fire and the ensuing shoot out lasted one full hour.
Then there was silence.
Then there was the horrific sound of the groaning of injured men.
Sergeant Sam had not been hit. Thank God! But one look over his shoulder and it was evident his comrade Tom hadn't been so fortunate. He was sprawled on the sandy floor with blood flowing from his left shoulder. He looked rather lifeless and Sam immediately rushed to his side.
'Hey, Tom,' he cried shaking him for any sign of life. 'Tom, answer me! I need you to hang in there. I need you alive!' It seemed like a scene from a movie, but it was all so real. Too real.
'Argh!' Tom groaned, eyes still closed with barely any movement in his limbs.
'Thank God you're alive, Tom.' Sam felt a wave of relief flow through his body like a cool summer rain.
'We're gonna get you to the medics. I promise you'll be just fine. Just hang in there. Just do that will you?' Sam desperately wanted his comrade and friend to survive what was now looking like a fatal wound.
'Mm...I will' Tom whispered weakly.
Sam called for help and got Tom transported to the medics for proper care.
As Tom was being taken away on the strecher, so weakened by his blood loss that he could not even muster the strength to wave bye, Sam couldn't help but think 'that could have been me'.

We love to sing the song 'I'm a soldier in the army of the Lord', and that is great. After all, when the Bible speaks of 'putting on the whole armour of God', 'fighting the good fight if faith', 'wrestling not against flesh and blood' and 'the weapons of our warfare', it is all too clear that becoming a Christian means we are enlisted in the Lord's army.
One reality that we tend to over look though, is that in battle, there are those who will be killed (for example, the early Christians who were martyred for their faith in Jesus Christ). There are also those who will be injured. Some by enemy fire, and sadly, some by friendly fire or ricochets.
Today, the body of Christ still has many wounded soldiers. Some have been hit by temptation which has caused them to sin. Now they lay wounded, weakened by the impact of the 'bullet'. Unable to get up on their own and desperately reaching out for help. But most times, what do we do? Most times, we don't turn our backs. No. We look them square in the face and ask 'why did you let yourself get hit, hm? Where were you looking when the bullet hit you, hm? If you'd been more prayerful, this wouldn't have happened to you', then we seal it with 'it is well'.
Lord have mercy!
Truth is, even though we may never in reality speak those words to a wounded Christian soldier, our attitude speaks them. In as much as there is the need for discipline in the body of Christ, when a person is down, help them up first before chastising.
We need to learn to reach out and touch not just the unbelievers, but also the wounded soldiers.  We need to stop the habit of turning a blind eye to our fellow comrades and brothers who have been taken down in battle. As well as the habit of talking about them rather than talking to them and praying for them. Some of them would take bullets for us and are probably down because they did just that.

When a man goes down in battle, a soldier's first instinct (while still on guard) is to see if they are still alive and to get help immediately. They know that team work, not individuals, stand a better chance against the enemy, so the more people can be sustained in the team, the closer they are to victory.

As soldiers of the Lord, let us revive the team spirit. Let us look out for one another. Let us encourage and pray for one another. Let us help the wounded soldiers up and put them on the road to recovery, because that person sprawling on the ground could very well have been us.

Shalom