Something Honorable

A number of years ago I remember watching a movie called Geronimo. It featured a very young Matt Damon playing the supporting role of a fresh, idealistic cavalry officer newly commissioned from West Point, and assigned to service in the Arizona Territory. He was paired with a veteran (Lt. Gatewood from Virginia) whose family had fought for the South in the Civil War, and who was now wearing the “blue uniform” that his father and brothers had rebelled against. As these two soldiers, tasked with bringing in the renegade Apache Geronimo and his warriors, worked together to try to bridge the gulf between Government and Indian, they ran headlong into the unpredictable character of the Apache and the deceptive promises of Washington politicians. The sad determination of Lt. Gatewood comes to a head as he prepares to go and meet with Geronimo alone in an effort to convince him to leave the past behind and submit to a new way of life for his people. Before he leaves, he looks intently at the young lieutenant and says, “Stay true. We are trying to make a country here. It’s hard.” In that statement he alludes to the difficult sacrifices it would take at a personal level to make something honorable come from the impersonal, self-serving attitude of the social institutions on both sides of the issue.

God’s Kingdom faces a similar challenge as it seeks to stand against all the injustices and selfishness of the world. Just as a country is really defined by the character of each citizen, so the effectiveness and credibility of the church hangs on the display of Jesus’ life in each individual member. We must not allow the faded glory of the past to color our walk with Jesus today. Rather, we need to allow the Holy Spirit to breathe new and real life into us every day because, “We are trying to build a church here. It’s hard.” But that work is made honorable and vital when you and I are living as committed followers of Jesus – people who forget what lies behind and push forward to where the Spirit of the Lord is leading us, into the lives of others for the sake of the gospel!

How exciting to be His people,

Pastor David Vanderpool