For Memorial Day our church did a service honoring those who died for what they believed in. Video clips were shown. American soldiers sacrificing for their country in our current wars ran across the screen, followed by a film of how each disciple lost his life for Christ. What struck me most in these films was a photo of a Marine with a tear running down his face. He looked so big and strong holding his weapon in full battle gear, but that tear was so very tender upon his dusty cheek. This soldier grieved the loss of a friend. Someone he loved. Someone who fought and fell by his side.

I have often heard that soldiers really fight for each other in battle. Men at war forge friendships that turn into a love so enduring that they willingly sacrifice their lives for those they fight alongside. When interviewed, Medal of Honor winners who survived the combat that won them acclaim have often said they acted courageously simply to protect their friends. They weren’t thinking about the cause of the war, or devotion to their country, or even protecting their families back home, they acted out of love for their fellow soldiers.

This brings me to the heart of Christianity. Many people don’t realize that there is a spiritual war happening on this earth. This war can’t be seen with the naked eye. Every human being is a part of this war. Not by choice, but by birth. It’s like being born in Afghanistan right now. Afghani babies don’t decide whether or not to join the war, they land smack in the middle of it wet from their mother’s womb.

God and the devil have gone head to head since Adam and Eve. Jesus came to save every person who calls on the name of the Lord during the fight. And this war continues today. The Bible says someday this war will end, but right now it rages on.

Recently, I was trying to describe to some dear friends who don’t go to church why I am a Christian. I was kind of fumbling around, awkwardly using terms like born-again and being saved, when that soldier’s face with the tear flashed in my mind. A sudden wave of love swept over me and I said something like, “I met Jesus and he became my friend and he died for me.” I’m not sure of my exact words, they were far from eloquent, but in that moment, I realized with complete clarity why I am a Christian and the simplicity of it left me breathless.

The twelve apostles who followed Jesus when he walked the earth as a man became Christians for the same reason I have. They met Jesus, became his friend, and then Jesus died for them. They weren’t following a religion or a cause called Christianity, they followed a man known as the Christ who was also the Son of God. After Jesus died, rose again, then went up to heaven, the earthly war raged on. These first friends of Jesus ended up dying terrible deaths too because they loved Jesus and were now fighting His war. In the two thousand years since, many more friends of Jesus have died in this spiritual battle. They didn’t die for Christianity, they died for Christ.

Some may ask, well how does one become a friend of Jesus today when He’s up in heaven and I’m down here? Further more, I don’t see this spiritual war and I find it very hard to believe it’s really happening.

I remember feeling this way, asking these same questions, struggling with these same doubts. All I can say is that I kept seeking until I truly met Jesus. Supernaturally, Jesus made himself known to me and my whole life changed. This is the missing ingredient in many Christian conversions: the supernatural power of God. If you call yourself a Christian, but haven’t been touched by the supernatural power of Jesus and you have no idea that there is a spiritual war going on, then I humbly suggest that you aren’t a real Christian yet. Keep seeking…

After I met Jesus and he became my friend, my eyes were opened to this spiritual war. Seeing the war surprised me more than seeing Jesus.

And here lies the heart of Christianity: Jesus in battle for you. Jesus gathering friends to help rescue you. Real Christians aren’t religious. They simply love Jesus and have followed Him into the fight.

I have posted a video clip in the blog that follows this one titled: A Life in Pages: Memorial Day 2010. I copied it from Angela Hunt’s blog. Please watch this video. It says so much about the heart of Americans, but it says even more about the heart of God. The ending of this clip is what got me. I hope it gets you too. We don’t deserve to be rescued, but Jesus gave himself for us just the same.