“The Mission Continues”

Tuesday, March 15, 2016

When he came home from the war zone due to combat injuries, US naval officer LtCdr. Eric Greitens started talking to other wounded troops in the military hospital where he was recovering. He asked his fellow wounded soldiers, "What do you want to do next?"

The answer was always the same: "I want to go back to my unit." Despite some of them having suffered truly debilitating injuries that prevented them from ever serving in the armed forces again, their determination to serve their country remained undaunted. All these men had volunteered, and their love for country permeated their attitudes so deeply that they wanted to continue to serve.

In our modern American culture, it is very common and polite for us to tell a soldier or a Marine, "Thank you for your service." LtCdr. Greitens would tell the men, "Thank you for your service... and we still need you." He told them this because their countrymen DO still need them. We need these soldiers as leaders in the workforce, in our schools, in our local governments, in our neighborhoods, in our big government, and in their own families.

If you've been wounded by unbelievers in the service of the Lord's army, can I say, "Thank you for your service... and we still need you"? If you've grown older and become tired in your service of the Lord's army, can I say, "Thank you for your service... and we still need you"? If you've been wounded by friendly fire—fellow Christians' bad choices—in the service of the Lord's army, can I say, "Thank you for your service... and we still need you"?

The church needs the leadership, the example, the teaching, and the fellowship of those who are tired and yet continue to press on... of those who are wounded and yet continue to press on... of those who are discouraged and yet continue to press on. Your brothers and sisters still need you to fight against the devil alongside us. And in fact, sometimes you are the ones whom we need most because you have the most direct and long-term experience with our great enemy.

That's why we need you to teach us in our Bible classes, to mentor us in our family lives, to encourage us in our battles with temptation, to love us in our weakness and show us God's grace to overcome, to be our leaders in our churches, and to share the lessons you've learned from walking the path of the faithful. 

You can be the ones who show us that God always wins! You can be the ones who show us not to grow weary in doing good (2 Thess. 3:13)! You can be the ones to show us what it means for God to be "all in all" (1 Cor. 15:28).

Thank you for your service, beloved brothers and sisters... and we still need you.

- Dan Lankford, minister

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The Mission Continues is an organization developed by officer Greitens to help soldiers continue serving their country in powerful ways as civilians when they retire from the military. The organization's efforts have helped a great many soldiers overcome the struggles of PTSD by focusing their skills on the greater good of serving others.

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