No DMZ for Kingdom Warriors

Depending on how old you are, the term DMZ might have significant or no meaning to you. I grew up in the Vietnam era, and DMZ was a common term we heard in the news and in discussions about where friends were in the war. DMZ means De-Militarized Zone. It was to be an area between the two sides that was neutral. Sadly there are many people today who believe that they should live in a DMZ spiritually, a DMZ in which there are no attacks from the enemy and you are safe to live your life the way you want to. The Lord did not call us to live a safe life, a comfortable life, a life in which everybody just accepts us and does not bother us. He called us to follow Him and that has consequences.

Think about all of the times in scripture that we read someone had to make a decision - one way or the other - to follow Jesus or go back to their lives as they were without Him. Frequently Jesus put it very bluntly regarding being hot or cold. There is no lukewarm. There is no safety zone. Not when you choose Christ. Not when you decide to pick up your cross and follow Him. What are the consequences of trying to stay in the middle?

Recall Mark 6 when Herod is given the opportunity to save John the Baptist's life. He had been imprisoned but Herod had been protecting him because he admired him and learned each time he listened to John speak. Mark 6:20 And Herod respected John, knowing that he was a good and holy man, so he kept him under his protection. Herod was disturbed whenever he talked with John, but even so, he liked to listen to him. It would seem that the Lord was lifting the veils from Herod's eyes and giving him a chance to change his life. Sadly like many people, Herod got caught up in the moment when his daughter was dancing for him. He spoke impulsively and made promises to her. When she came back to him with her request to be fulfilled, Herod had a moment in time when he could have chosen the right path, the one God wanted him to choose. However, he was more concerned about what people would think of him than what was the right action to take. Mark 6:26 Then the king was very sorry, but he was embarrassed to break his oath in front of his guests. Too late to turn back from what he had released into the atmosphere, John was beheaded under Herod's orders.

How often have each of us been caught in just such a moment? We say or do things impulsively without consulting the Lord for His desire for our lives and then when those same actions come back to haunt us, we feel powerless to change course. At the time of those actions or words, we probably felt "safe"; this will not impact my testimony; this has nothing to do with how I feel about Jesus and my faith. However, inevitably we come to find out that everything has to do with Jesus and our faith. There is no safety zone, there is no DMZ in our spiritual lives.

Our spiritual lives are intricately woven into every aspect of the world in which we live. We cannot separate "life" from our faith walk. Life is our faith walk. We are called to operate in such a way that we recognize there is no DMZ, there is no safety zone in which our actions don't have repercussions - good or bad. There is no neutral. What you say or do either builds up the kingdom of God or it tears it down. Remember that even when you are physically alone, you are surrounded in the spiritual realm. There are good and bad spirits listening to you and watching you, but most importantly Holy Spirit is there at all times.

My suggestion for all of us this week, myself included, is to evaluate our frame of mind. Have we fallen into the false sense that there is a DMZ for our lives? Do we recognize that every word that we say, every action that we take has a consequence for the kingdom - good or bad? I challenge you to live a life that is HOT for the Lord, not lukewarm. Don't fall into the trap of believing that you can straddle the fence and have it both ways with life. Either you are with the Lord or you are against Him. There is no neutral zone. There is no DMZ. Live your life in such a manner that you are ever ready for whatever comes your way and you have your spiritual armor on, ready at all times.