Band of Brothers

We few, we happy few, we band of brothers; For he today that sheds his blood with me shall be my brother; be he ne'er so vile, this day shall gentle his condition. An gentlemen in England now-a-bed shall think themselves accursed they were not here, and hold their manhood cheap while any speaks that fought with us on St. Crispins day. (Henry V, Shakespeare)

The year was 1415 and as the English marched across Northwest France, the men had grown weak from dysentary and morale was low. The French saw this as an opportunity to rid their country of this enemy. They brought 25,000 men up against this struggling band, but Henry rallied his forces and the English lost only 200 men while the defeated French lost 5,000.

When men walk together through life their is something special. When you are forced to join arms and fight, or pull your brother up from a struggle that has ravaged his life you create bonds not easily broken.

I spent two years walking through life with 11 such men. We shared our good times and our sorrows. There were battles and struggles and times our morale was low, but no one ever walked alone. In Shakespeare's rendition of Henry V, he talks of the men who one day will draw back their sleeves and show the scars they carry from the battle at Agincourt. When I think of my own band of brothers, we each bear the scars that life left on us, but we look upon them with honor and with joy. Those scars remind me of the men who joined me in life's battle.

When I think about how great it is to have those kind of men in your life - friends that I will carry with me to the grave, I am also reminded of how hard it must have been for Christ to hang on the cross. Yes the torture of a cross was a brutal and senseless way to kill a man, but I believe the real anquish of our savior was to look out over the angry mob and all but his mother and John had departed. In that moment we see the humanity of Jesus as he cried out, "My God, My God why has thou forsaken me."

Though we are tempted, tried and tested - we never walk alone. We have a deliverer to lead us into battle and a Savior to rescue us from defeat. Among my own band of brothers is an elder brother who surrendered his body and blood for my freedom and security.

Henry V died at age 35, seven years after the battle of Agincourt. Our Lord was raised from the grave three days after his crucifixion, never to die again. Our King leads us to an eternal victory that will one day also rescue us from the grave.

The Measure of a Man

I have recently been re-reading John Eldridge's book "Wild at Heart." My son and I have both read the book through at least three times. Eldridge does such an excellent job explaining why God created us the way he did.

There is something that captures the imagination of a man as he watches John Wayne draw his pistol from the holster, or Michael Jordan hit a jump shot from 30 feet with the game on the line. We love the violence of hockey and football because of the vicarious thrill of watching men go into battle.

God didn't design men to be spectators, he created us to be leaders. To fight for our families, stand up for the oppressed and defend the truth and honor of the bride of Christ. I believe that Theodore Roosevelt captures the heart of a "real man" in the following statement.

“It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood, who strives valiantly; who errs and comes short again and again; because there is not effort without error and shortcomings; but who does actually strive to do the deed; who knows the great enthusiasm, the great devotion, who spends himself in a worthy cause, who at the best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement and who at the worst, if he fails, at least he fails while daring greatly. So that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who know neither victory nor defeat.”

In a few weeks the men of the Spring Meadows Church of Christ will be studying Wild at Heart on Wednesday evenings. I pray all of our men will come and bring friends. If you are inspired by Henry's speech at Agincourt or how Sir William Wallace rallied his men to go up against the superior forces of the English, or it may be you long to stand beside the 300 Spartan's as they hold off the Persians at the pass at Thermopylae. If this describes you then join us for an epic adventure of manhood.