I heard an essay/interview on NPR last night about a soldier in Iraq who suffered from post-traumatic stress. One of the things that he said which really flooded me was that he became much more effective as an officer when he had resigned himself to the fact that he was going to die in Iraq, and to stop worry about the future. Simply do what needed to be done that day, and try to save as many of his men as possible.
Is there a parallel with the Christian faith? Particularly with the Holy Ministry. Here’s what I think may be a good comparison and a bad comparison:
The good comparison is that we should live our lives here on earth without worrying about the future. Matthew 6, etc. We have died in holy baptism. Our lives are hidden with Christ in God (Colossians 3). Understood properly, this frees us to be divinely reckless with the gifts which our Lord gives us today, knowing that he will provide for all things.
The bad comparison is to believe that since we have already lost the battle (we will die) that we might as well simply slog through it, but there is no life at all.
Been there? Either one or the other? I know I have.
-LL
