What would it be like to be dropped behind enemy lines, fighting your way back to allied territory only to discover that the battle you fought so hard to fight only landed you in enemy territory? What does the old adage mean: “We have met the enemy and enemy is us?” and how does this apply to Christianity in the 21st Century?

In Legend, acclaimed bestselling author Eric Blehm takes as his canvas the Vietnam War, as seen through a single mission that occurred on May 2, 1968. A twelve-man Special Forces team had been covertly inserted into a small clearing in the jungles of neutral Cambodia—where U.S. forces were forbidden to operate. Their objective, just miles over the Vietnam border, was to collect evidence that proved the North Vietnamese Army was using the Cambodian sanctuary as a major conduit for supplying troops and materiel to the south via the Ho Chi Minh Trail. What the team didn’t know was that they had infiltrated a section of jungle that concealed a major enemy base. Soon they found themselves surrounded by hundreds of NVA troops, under attack, low on ammunition, and stacking the bodies of the dead as cover in a desperate attempt to survive the onslaught.

When Special Forces staff sergeant Roy Benavidez heard the distress call, he jumped aboard the next helicopter bound for the combat zone without hesitation. What followed would become legend in the Special Operations community. Flown into the foray of battle by the courageous pilots and crew of the 240th Assault Helicopter Company, Benavidez jumped from the hovering aircraft and ran nearly 100 yards through withering enemy fire. Despite being immediately and severely wounded, Benavidez reached the perimeter of the decimated team, provided medical care, and proceeded to organize an extraordinary defense and rescue. During the hours-long battle, he was bayoneted, shot, and hit by grenade shrapnel more than thirty times, yet he refused to abandon his efforts until every survivor was out of harm’s way.

1 Corinthians 3:9 states that we have been dropped behind enemy lines: For we are fellow workmen (joint promoters, laborers together) with and for God; you are God’s garden and vineyard and field under cultivation, [you are] God’s building.

Why would I say that we have been dropped behind enemy lines? Because Romans 8:9 states: [That is] because the mind of the flesh [with its carnal thoughts and purposes] is hostile to God,..” Good News Translation states: And so people become enemies of God when they are controlled by their human nature;…”Aramaic Bible in Plain English Because the mind of the flesh is hatred toward God,…” Our carnal, fleshly, human or soulish nature is defined as our mind, will, emotions and personality. In essence, our soul is our spirit man’s evil twin. Make no mistake about it our soul hates God and is the enemy of God’s Spirit operating in our born-again spirit. This other-worldly, visitation from Heaven brings us into direct conflict with our selves seeking to see that God’s Garden takes dominion over the battlefield of our eternal destiny. Genesis 2:15 states: And the Lord God took the man and put him in the Garden of Eden to tend and guard and keep it. The Hebrew word for guard or keep implies that we are to exercise great care over it. It expresses several ideas that contain parallels for our own spiritual gardens. In one instance we are to guard or keep through doing things carefully, or diligently as in Proverbs 19:8’s injunction to “Give heed to understanding” or Dt. 11:32’s injunction to “Be careful to do (i.e. perform carefully.)” Another ramification is “take care of,” “guard” as in keeping a garden or tending it, guarding it against intruders. Frequently the verb is used to speak of personal discipline, in taking heed to one’s life and actions. Lastly it conveys the idea of paying attention to, and giving reverence to God. In summary you could say that while we are behind enemy lines we are to pay attention to God, His Word, and our lives while we gain spiritual understanding and keep watch against any form of enemy intrusion. Question is are the lines of the conflict drawn clearly in the church and believers minds? My limited assessment is that the conclusion is obvious: No!! Emphatically, No! As you will see in this weeks blogs many don’t know which side to fight on, what they are fighting for, nor what they are fighting against. Even in a pick up game of basketball between the skins (interesting symbolism) and shirts we know clearly who are opponents are. But as the old adage states: “We have met the enemy and enemy is us.”