Thoughts In The Breeze

Just the other day I was rummaging through my old photos and came across one I took during my visit to New Zealand.  It was a picture taken when I took a jump off Auckland's tallest building, the Skytower (192m).  Of course it was done with a safety harness attached to me .  I still have no idea what led me to do such a crazy thing as I have a distinct fear of heights, plus the $100 fee to attempt the jump didn't help either.  I guess it was because I wanted to face my fear smack in the face and embrace it.

Well, the good news was my uncle, impressed by my brave and insane decision, decided to pay for the jump.  At the bottom of the tower I was full of confidence as my family cheered me on.  With reassured strides I walked into the lift which would take me to the highgest floor.  On reaching the top of the building a strange sensation suddenly came to me.  My legs were involuntarily shaking... my head started to spin in one direction, and then back the other way...and my stomach felt like it housed a swarm of butterflies .

When I reached the jump-off point and looked over the top I instinctively ran back to the safety of the lift.  But then I saw a group of primary school children staring back at me and cheering me on.  *SIGH!*  Now how could I dissapoint them?  Going back to the edge of the tower I held on to the railing to prevent myself from going back.  I can still remember very clearly what happened after that.  The conversation between me and the man who was supposed to oversee my jump something like this:

Anyways, long story short the jump went well.  In fact, I so enjoyed it that they gave me a second jump for free.  Looking back, one important thing I learned was the importance of 'holding on'.  Duirng my ordeal...errr activity I didn't do anything fancy.  I just took a leap of faith and held on as tightly as I could.  Although my experience can't compare to the suffering and sacrifice of Christ, it made me think of Jesus hanging on the cross.  He had to go through all the pain and shame of bearing our sins.  From the time of his betrayal at Gethsemane to the time he gave up his last breath he didn't do any that seemed grand to impress the people around him.  He simply held on.  Even when they mocked him, beat him and nailed his hands to the cross, he did not fight back.  Try to imagine what would have happened if halfway through the ordeal he decided to come down from the cross?  He was surely capable of that, after all, he was the Son of God.  If that happened then you and I would still be unforgiven and have to pay the price for our sins.

My decision now is to hold on to Jesus.  Firstly, I'm making sure I don't compromise and continue to walk in humility with God.  Like Daniel in the Bible (Daniel 6) I will continue to be faithful in my daily things such as quiet time, attending church and caregroup, tithing (when I have money! ), discipleship and caregroup leading.  Secondly, like Daniel I'm also seeing this time as an opportunity to build my skills and character.  I'm asking myself what do I need to fulfill the Great Commission?  Such activities include reading books, studying for my Australian driving test, improving my guitar skills for ministry, and doing a personal IT project to develop new skills for my future employer.

1. The Spartan attitude towards war.
2. The willingness of the Spartans and their king to march into battle, knowing that they faced an almost certain death.
3. The principle behind the Greek phalanx.  The emphasis of protecting one another.

1. The Spartan attitude towards war.

The movie was historically accurate that any Spartan baby boy born physically disabled or deemed weak would be thrown away or killed.  Other historical documents state that mothers even bathed their baby boys in wine as a test of the child's endurance.  As children of God we believe that all of us have been called by God and have a destiny in Him.  Every life is precious to God.  He looks at our heart and not our talents.  A willingness to serve and submit is the attitude we should have towards Him.

However, what impressed me was how Spartan children were trained from a young age how to fight and submit to their leader's command.  Indeed as Christians we are fighting a spiritual battle with the Devil and the world.  The Spartans trained every day and aimed for perfection.  Furthermore, they knew their one purpose in life; to fight to protect their city and their families.   Have you ever asked yourself what is your one purpose in life?  Is it to serve God?  If that is your answer, then let me ask you, "What are you doing to fulfill that purpose?  Is your faith stronger than yesterday?  Is your Bible knowledge better than yesterday?  Is your character growing?"

The Spartans also trained in handling their equipment so well that it became second nature to them.  They were each equipped with a spear, a sword, a helmet, a belt, a breastplate (although the movie depicted them bare-chested...I guess it was just to show off their muscles ) and a shield.  Sound familiar to you?  Yes, the full armour of God!  In the same way a soldier trains regularly with his equipment, we too as soldiers of Christ must train to use our spiritual armour (Ephesians 6:13-18).  Let me ask, how often do we use God's truth?  When was the last time we affirmed our righteousness with God?  Are our feet always ready with the Gospel?  Do we exercise our faith regularly?

(Note: It's interesting to note that Spartan women were not excluded from physical training.  Every Spartan woman was required to undergo something similar to our modern day army's basic training.  They believed having a strong body would help them endure the rigours of child birth!)

2. The principle behind the Greek phalanx.  The emphasis of protecting one another

One of the battle tactics of the Greeks that made them such a formidable fighting force was a military formation known as the 'phalanx'.  In this formation, soldiers would line up in ranks, usually four to eight ranks deep.  In this formation, soldiers would lock their shields together and the first few ranks of soldiers would project their spears out over the first rank of shields (See Image 1).  Other civilisations had similar formations such as the Viking's 'shield wall' (Image 2) and the Roman's 'testudo' (Image 3).  Despite the difference in appearance, the princple behind these formations is the same; to rely on each other for increased protection.

Image 1: Example of a Greek phalanx

Image 2: A Viking shield wall   

Image 3: A Roman testudo

By overlapping their shields, Greek soldiers would be assured that their sides and front were protected, while any enemy that tried to charge into the formation would be faced with a forest of spears stabbing at them.  In other words, each soldier was responsible to protect both himself and the person on his left.  If any soldier in the front line was killed and the formation was broken, an enemy could easily pour through the opening and decimate the phalanx.  So important was each person in holding this formation that Spartan women would tell their sons before going into battle, "Come back with this shield or upon it".  This meant Spartans could only return to Sparta either victorious or dead.  If a soldier returned alive without his shield, it was assumed he threw it at the enemy in an effort to retreat; an act punishable by death.

I believe the principle behind this is unity.  A verse that comes to mind is Ecclesiastes 4:12 "Though one may be overpowered, two can defend themselves.  A cord of three strands is not quickly broken".  As Christians we all part of the body of Christ, each of us having our own skills and responsibilities (1 Corinthians 12:12-26).  One thing we can ask ourselves is, "Are working in harmony as one body?"  Is the work we are doing supporting our brothers and sisters in our church and caregroup?  When we're facing what the world throws at us, it's sometimes easy to give in to the pressure, but an encouraging word or even practical support given by a friend can really mean alot to us. Big things like losing a job, failing an exam, having personal problems with friends and family can be devastating.  Even the little things that irritate us like missing a train or being misunderstood can have a negative impact on our mood.  Yet in such times, isn't it great to know we have a spiritual family who will support and comfort us, and even more a perfect God who will always help us when we call?

3. The willingness of the Spartans and their king to march into battle, knowing they faced an almost certain death.

"John 15:13 Greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends".  This verse kept running through my mind.  In the beginning the Spartans did not know how large the opposing army was.  Yet at the end of the movie when they knew they would face a most certain death, they did not retreat but instead fought on.  They fought on, knowing they could not win the battle they intended to slow down the enemy so the other Greek cities could have enough time to prepare for war.

I asked myself, "Would I have the courage to do that?", "Would I be willing to die for a friend?".  This lead me to think about the love Christ has for us.  The 300 Spartans died knowing they would be remembered and respected by their countrymen, yet Christ died knowing the very people he was dying for were the ones who were crucifying him.  Let's remember it was our sins that placed Christ on the cross.  What an unconditional love Jesus had and still has for us... to die for someone who hates you.

In the same way we should ask ourselves, "Are we willing to live and die for Jesus?".  The apostle Paul said "To live is Christ, and to die is gain" (Philippians 1:21).  Do we have that same mindset?  Perhaps we shouldn't even go that far... are we even willing to sacrifice our time, effort and resources for God?  Jesus said, "Love your enemy" (Matthew 5:43-45), so I guess that means this love that we have should extend to the people we don't like?  Let's honestly think about it.