(This post was adapted and appeared previously in a different venue.)
A while back, a caller on the Sean Hannity Show said her son was leaving soon for basic training. She described his decision to join the military as a "calling", as if it was something he was born to do. She said she was very proud of her son and his decision, and indeed we all should be.
For those like me who grew up in Christianity, we're familiar with the idea of a "calling." It seems it is most closely identified with religion, as if God has "called" you into the ministry, spoke to you directly and told you to become a pastor or a missionary. But I believe it can be applied to other fields as well, outside of religion. After all, this young man felt "called" to be a soldier. And in these dangerous times that we live in, we should all be thankful he did.
I read an interesting book that talks about this drive in men and boys. "Wild at Heart" by John Eldredge talks about how God creates boys to be rambunctious, rowdy, to play with toy guns and pretend to be cowboys and Indians or cops and robbers. My six year old son likes to pretend to play "Wipeout" and jumps from chair to chair imitating the obstacles on the hit ABC show. I used to try to stop him, fearing he would get hurt. But now I realize it is just the way he is wired. We need boys to play like this. Our society needs to let boys be boys. Sure, they need to follow the rules at school and obey the law, but don't try to feminize them and take away their toy guns or their rowdiness. Let them be and act like boys. After all, we may one day need them to harness that rowdiness, that energy to become soldiers. Thank God there are so many men who are willing to do just that. Men like my nephew Kyle (Air Force), my nephew Micah (Army), my son-in-law Michael (Army) and my cousin Bryan (Air Force). They epitomize John 15:13 -- "Greater love hath no man than he who lays down his life for his friend."
For those like me who grew up in Christianity, we're familiar with the idea of a "calling." It seems it is most closely identified with religion, as if God has "called" you into the ministry, spoke to you directly and told you to become a pastor or a missionary. But I believe it can be applied to other fields as well, outside of religion. After all, this young man felt "called" to be a soldier. And in these dangerous times that we live in, we should all be thankful he did.
I read an interesting book that talks about this drive in men and boys. "Wild at Heart" by John Eldredge talks about how God creates boys to be rambunctious, rowdy, to play with toy guns and pretend to be cowboys and Indians or cops and robbers. My six year old son likes to pretend to play "Wipeout" and jumps from chair to chair imitating the obstacles on the hit ABC show. I used to try to stop him, fearing he would get hurt. But now I realize it is just the way he is wired. We need boys to play like this. Our society needs to let boys be boys. Sure, they need to follow the rules at school and obey the law, but don't try to feminize them and take away their toy guns or their rowdiness. Let them be and act like boys. After all, we may one day need them to harness that rowdiness, that energy to become soldiers. Thank God there are so many men who are willing to do just that. Men like my nephew Kyle (Air Force), my nephew Micah (Army), my son-in-law Michael (Army) and my cousin Bryan (Air Force). They epitomize John 15:13 -- "Greater love hath no man than he who lays down his life for his friend."
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