“Every soldier in uniform; everyone who’s ever worn the uniform or wears the uniform today, understands that, ‘My life might be required of me…I might give my life on behalf of this nation.’
I think that’s the life that Jesus led and that’s the principle that Jesus lived by.”
Chaplain John McDougall realized the parallels between the Army Rangers who deploy to hostile territory for the cause of freedom and Jesus’ mission in coming to earth to set us free. Out of this concept came the book, Jesus Was an Airborne Ranger, and Chaplain McDougall reminds us that we are called to help Christ complete His mission.
What can the bravery of our service personnel show us about the sacrifice of our Savior?
Chaplain McDougall shares a scripture that men and women all over the world can relate to.
“So many soldiers, whether of Christian faith or not, can resonate with John 15:13. ‘Greater love has no one in this: That he lays down his life for his friends.’”
As believers, many of us don’t feel that we fully measure up to be a part of God’s elite team. Chaplain McDougall encourages everyone that through Christ, we will always have what it takes and we are all called to be of service.
“Certainly Jesus represents the best of the best; He represents the very best of humanity. The good news is, unlike the Airborne Rangers of today that really just call the elite or the very best, He calls everyone to service.”
Chaplain McDougall says that Jesus’ twelve disciples are a great example.
“We can find encouragement in the looking of the twelve men He called in His original ‘ranger squad.’ These are not the intellectual elite, these were not the spiritual elite, in many ways these were kind of the leftovers. These were fisherman and tax collectors…they were folks that didn’t fit in the spiritual and religious community of the time, they didn’t really have anything to offer so it seemed and God used them nonetheless.”
The same is true for us today. He has called believers around the world to follow after Christ’s example, by being of good service to Him. Chaplain McDougall addresses this by using the Marine Corps motto: ‘We’re looking for a few good men.’
“God is still looking for a few good men who are willing to raise their hands and say, ‘I’ll serve. I may not have the most to offer, but I’m willing to offer what I have.’”
Chaplain McDougall suggests that in order to be of service, we need to gain a better understanding of what Jesus’ mission on earth is.
“I think we’ve lost a sense of mission in our churches. We started to think that the mission Jesus called us to is to be nice boys and girls, to go to church, to read our Bibles, to spend some time in prayer and maybe go to an occasional potluck after church – that’s not a mission.
Men and women certainly understand that we want to be called to something more.”
So what is our mission?
We all know that the enemy is trying to capture all of humanity as his prisoners. But Chaplain McDougall urges us to remember that God is on a rescue mission and we can all be saved from disaster.
“God the Father with the Son planned a rescue; the Son deployed to planet Earth much like a soldier. He operated unseen an unknown and He conducted His mission…and His mission goes on still! Certainly in one way was completed on the cross and the empty tomb, but in other ways His mission continues. God has called us to join Him in that rescue mission: ‘The Great Raid,’ as I say in the book.
He’s called us to join with Him and rescue humanity from captivity.”
