We Stand Alone Together – Part 2

 

You can read Part 1 here.

“You have enemies? Good. That means you've stood up for something, sometime in your life.” - Winston Churchill

“When brothers agree, no fortress is so strong as their common life.”
- Antisthenes

Watching the Band of Brothers series moves me every time, I get carried away by the stories of those brave men of Easy Company. I watch in admiration of their dedication to the cause even though they hated the war. My heart aches with them as they recalled the friends (the real heroes, as they described them) they watch die along the war into Germany. I celebrate with them as they see their brothers at annual reunions and for that moment, they are young again. These are good men, I wish I knew them.

I do know the men in my company, here’s what I seen.

One stood with his wife as she went through a dark depression, she’s a joyful woman today because of his faithfulness.

One has traveled to the Philippines for years ministering to the poorest of the poor. Many are in the Kingdom because of his sacrifice.

One believed in a friend when no one else would. That devotion helped restore a man’s confidence…I know, I was that man.

We have shared money, talents, prayers and even homes. It is in these shared experiences (and many more) that I feel some of the same connections the men of Easy Company described for one another. They mentioned words like unity, honor and focus, demonstrating brotherly love in extreme conditions. They understood the battle and what had to be done…they fought together.

Here is what came to mind when musing on that Band of Brothers
and mine.

“Behold, how good and how pleasant it is for brethren to dwell together in unity!”  Psalm 133:1

“Honour all men. Love the brotherhood. Fear God. Honour the king.”
2 Peter 2:17

In my company of men there have been disagreements, sometimes strong ones. Unity doesn’t mean there won’t be disagreements, unity means there can be togetherness in spite of differences. Brotherly love is the glue, the strength to stay focus on defeating the enemy together.

“There is a war going on. All talk of a Christian's right to live luxuriously "as a child of the King" in this atmosphere sounds hollow -- especially since the King himself is stripped for battle.” - John Piper

In the movie Lord of the Rings, The Two Towers comes one of my favorite exchanges.

King Theoden: I will not risk open war

Aragorn: Open war is upon you whether you risk it or not.

Open war is upon us; we must engage and fight to win this battle. The battle may seem like a skirmish, too distant to be a threat but don’t be fooled by where your frontline might be. King Theoden tells Aragorn that he “would not risk open war.” Perhaps a wise position, most rational people agree that open war is a huge, scary risk. Aragorn’s answer is to remind the king of the truth, open war is already in his kingdom.There is open war in our territories…trying to destroy our families and our brotherhood. So my questions are these:

What struggles have you observed your brothers battle through?
What did you learn from them?
Did you battle together?
Did it strengthen your relationship?

Yours in Brotherhood,
Jay

Next time, Part 3 - It’s time to man-up!

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