For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war after the flesh. 2 Corinthians 10:3
On August 6, 1945, a B-29 Superfortress bomber piloted by Colonel Paul Tibbets carried the first atomic bomb to be employed in anger toward Japan. The US bomber was specially outfitted and modified for the mission, which it was able to carry out with flawless precision. The bomb was dropped on the Japanese city of Hiroshima, resulting in almost 130,000 people being killed, injured, or missing. Three days later, a second atomic bomb was dropped on the city of Nagasaki, and the Japanese agreed to surrender. The bombing of Hiroshima effectively brought the second world war to an end. But some historians claim it also started a new war, the Cold War between the western nations and the Soviet-dominated nations. Those historians say US president Harry Truman’s main purpose in using the atomic bomb was to discourage Russian advances in the orient. The cold war, which began right after the world war ended, was a period in which no shots were fired or bombs dropped. Instead, the powers engaged in espionage, arms buildup races, propaganda campaigns, and other tactics. This different type of war reminds us of the different type of conflict that Christians are engaged in.
As Christians, we don’t use bombs and bullets, because our goal is not to kill and defeat earthly armies. Those who engage in fighting and killing other people in the name of religion are misguided, because our enemies are not other religions or the people who practice them. No, our enemies are the spiritual powers of evil, Satan and his minions who war against God and His Christ.
It’s not always easy for us to understand that our warfare is not against flesh. We hear the blasphemy of the cults and false religions, and we would like to see those evil voices silenced. We watch the violence and dishonesty all about us, and wish we could correct those terrible wrongs. But God has not given us a commission to defeat these things. Instead, He has given us an armour to withstand the wiles of the devil and to stand against Him. For example, our helmet is God’s salvation; not very effective in a physical fight, but very effective against Satan’s attacks. Our sword is the Bible, which makes a poor weapon when used as a club or knife, but is the most effective weapon possible in our war against evil. Our warfare is spiritual, and as such is not intended to shed the blood of men.
We are engaged in full-out warfare today. Let us not make the mistake of battling the wrong enemy. -Jim MacIntosh