We Band of Brothers (#78 of 365+)

“Therefore, my dear brothers, stand firm. Let nothing move you. Always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord, because you know that your labor in the Lord is not in vain” (1 Corinthians
15:58)

The HBO movie “Band of Brothers” from 2001 was based on the true story of Easy Company, 506th Regiment of the 101st Airborne Division. Sprinkled with interviews with actual World War II veterans, the story takes us from their basic training in 1942 through to the end of war. Together, these men parachuted behind enemy lines, participated in the liberation of towns and concentration camps, and were among the first Allied troops to enter Hitler's mountain retreat in Berchtesgarten. IMDB’s description calls the miniseries “a fascinating tale of comradeship that is, in the end, a tale of ordinary men who did extraordinary things”.

Here’s a short video introduction to the movie:


The movie's theme song Requiem for a Soldier is especially inspiring if you know the lyrics:

“You never lived to see/What you gave to me/One shining dream of hope and love/Life and liberty/With a host of brave unknown soldiers/For your company you will live forever/Here in our memory

In fields of sacrifice/Heroes paid the price/Young men who died for old men's wars/Gone to paradise/We are all one great band of brothers/And one day you'll see we can live together/When all the world is free

I wish you'd lived to see/All you gave to me/Your shining dream of hope and love/Life and liberty/We are all one great band of brothers/And one day you'll see - we can live together/When all the world is free”

Click here to listen to the song again with the beautiful voice of Katherine Jenkins.

Just the other day I nearly wept as I heard the question of a young woman caller on a national Christian radio talk show. She was Iranian born, had immigrated to the U.S. in the past few years, and was a relatively recent convert to Christianity. She was considering a return visit to her home country knowing full well that Christians are currently being stoned to death there. But her question wasn’t whether she should go home at all… Instead she wanted to know if it was God’s will for her to publicly profess her beliefs and guarantee an execution, or if she should keep quiet about it for now. She seemed willing to abide by either answer. The pastors advised her to pray long and hard about it, and to remember—even if she chose to remain silent—one should never deny Christ when asked a direct question about their faith.

We Christians often forget thousands of believers died so we could receive the gospel, and this deadly war is still going on today. It is a spiritual war with eternal consequences that is taking place in the U.S. and has also spread to Iraq, Iran, Afghanistan, North Korea, and everywhere else on the globe. Christians in western countries are often blind to the realities of this war because of all the liberties and comforts we enjoy. Let’s not be fools about this for a single minute; when we choose to do nothing the enemy quickly gains ground. It is within the realm of possibility that our children could experience religious oppression (which is evidence of spiritual warfare) within our very own borders in the near future.

The only way we can prepare for a war of this magnitude is with serious prayer. Once we do this consistently then we can take the good news of God’s salvation behind enemy lines and set the captives free. But something we need to work on is to enlist with a band of brothers and sisters because we aren’t meant to fight these battles alone. As Joni said, “The fight against the devil is dark and dangerous. We Christians may be few, but we are a happy few. We are fellow warriors with each beside the other. And as long as we stand firm and let nothing move us, our Captain shall take us to victory!”

Lord, help us develop deeper friendships with like-minded sisters and brothers. Rally us together and fill us with so much of your Spirit that the enemy will flee at the sight of us! Give us the victory today. In Jesus’ name. Amen.