Semper Fidelis: Taking Up the Armor

by Hernando Quandt

The Marine Corps is considered by many to be the finest fighting force in existence. Ask any current of former Marine and he most likely will talk your ear off about how good the Marines are. The Marine Corps trains and fosters what we call a warrior ethos: a mindset that emphasizes fundamental values that lead to supremacy in combat. There is much that can be learned by understanding Marines. If their methods create troops that embody military professionalism, should we not strive to emulate them in whatever task is presented to us? I would like to compare and contrast the Marine Corps with skills that we can learn and apply to being Christians. While some may see these as mutually exclusive or antagonist ideas, I disagree. With the same dedication and focus that Marine Corps uses to pursue the warrior ethos, we can peruse Christ’s example, the Christian ethos if you will.

One of the fundamental principles that set the Marines apart from other branches is that every Marine is a rifleman first. It doesn’t matter if you are a pencil pushing supply guru – like I was – or a grease monkey mechanic: you are a skilled marksman capable of hitting a life size silhouette at 500 yards with open sights. In the same way, we should all be equipped with basic biblical knowledge. We should all be able to answer questions like, what is a Christian? Why is Jesus so important? What makes Lutherans different? Why did Luther break away from the Catholic Church? Why do Lutherans make such a big deal over communion? These are all questions that I have been asked by friends and family. Many of us have had times in our lives where we have doubted or questioned our faith. Sometimes events in life test our faith to the extreme and force us to evaluate it in a way we never had before. It is important for us to seek the answers God has for us. Many of the same issues you have dealt with are the same issues others are dealing with. Answering these difficult questions for ourselves equips us with the knowledge to proclaim God’s message and respond the scrutiny that sometimes follows. This knowledge can only come from a firm understanding of the Bible.

I remember the first time I ever heard of Lutherans. I was around ten years old watching The Simpsons and they were playing the episode where Lisa creates life by running an electric current through a tooth. Her “creation” goes through a timeline similar to our society, and at one point she looks in her microscope and sees a bald character posting a piece of paper on a church door. Lisa looks away from her microscope and realizes, “I’ve created Lutherans!” So, that day I learned that Lutherans post things on church doors. That was the extent of my knowledge on Lutheranism until I attended Concordia University in Irvine, California. It wasn’t until then that I was exposed to what happened after the posting on the wall. I valued the vast knowledge and understanding that my professors had. Every time I had a question on Christianity or Lutheranism I was able to approach my professors and I would have an answer that satisfied my curiosity. More importantly, most of my questions were answered with a recommendation to read a particular verse in the bible. The detailed explanations and the willingness with which my professors shared their faith with me was one of the reasons that my wife and I decided to become Lutherans.

These professors embodied the Christian ethos through their knowledge of the scriptures and Christ-like patience. They proclaimed the Good News to me in a way that I had not heard before. At one point we were discussing Christ’s divinity. In the middle of the conversation my professor handed me a bible and said “read 1 Kings 17:7-24.” I flipped through the bible and found the verse. It was the story of Elijah, a widow, and the widow’s son. It went on to tell how the three of them lived off of a small jar of flour and a jug of oil that, although nearly depleted, never ran out. It also told the story of how Elijah brought the widow’s son back from near death. I am not sure if I had been asleep every time that this story was retold in church, or if I just had never heard it, but I was amazed. I couldn’t help but see the parallels between this story and Christ. To be honest, I got goose bumps.

I have digressed from my original point of “every Marine is a rifleman first,” but I think that every Christian should be a biblical scholar first. We should know the Bible as a rifleman knows his weapon; we should be as precise with the Bible as sniper is with his scope; and we should cling to the Bible as an infantryman clings to his rifle for life. In boot camp, every Marine must memorize the Rifleman’s Creed: “This is my rifle. There are many like it, but this one is mine. My rifle is my best friend. It is my life. I must master it as I must master my life. My rifle, without me, is useless. Without my rifle, I am useless.” Without the Bible we would not know the plan that God had from creation, we would not see how the Old Testament leaves a trail of crumbs that leads to Christ and the New Testament points back to Him. Without the Bible we would have no record of who Christ was, we would not be able to see how He was both divine and human. Without the Bible we are useless, we should seek to master it, for our lives depend on it.

The last story I would like to share with you is from World War I. A British unit had orders to take a town in the holy land by the name of Michmash from the Ottoman Turks. Among the British forces there was a Brigade Major by the name of Vivian Gilbert. The name of the town they had been ordered to take sounded strangely familiar to him. In a dark tent by the light of candle, Major Gilbert scoured the pages of his Bible for the name “Michmash” (I guess concordances were not standard issue in the British military). Finally he found the town in 1 Samuel 14. I would recommend reading the entire story, but here is a synopsis of what happened. In the book of Samuel he read about an impending battle between the Israelites and the Philistines. Jonathan, aided by his armor bearer, found a narrow passage that allowed Jonathan and his companion to flank the rear of the Philistine army. Jonathan's flanking maneuver caused chaos among the Philistines. They believed that a much larger force was flanking them. According to verse 14 "In that first attack Jonathan and his armor-bearer killed some twenty men in an area of about half an acre." Israel won the battle thanks to God, through Jonathan’s courage. Major Gilbert wondered if this pass still existed. He sent out scouts who, guided by the description in Samuel, eventually found the same pass that Jonathan used. Major Gilbert’s unit decided to change their tactics, took a page out of God’s playbook, and won the battle. Major Gilbert’s biblical knowledge brought victory to his unit. It is a simple and practical example of the power of biblical knowledge.

Over the next month I will continue to share my perspective in a way that I hope you find interesting and relevant to Christianity. I hope to discuss camaraderie, sacrifice, and Christ the ultimate leader. I hope to bring a unique perspective, historical anecdotes, an interesting read, and above all sound biblical opinion.

I would like to leave you with this verse:

“Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.” (Emphasis added)

Semper Fidelis.