S. Michael Craven is the President of the Center for Christ & Culture.  His ministry emphasis is on living Christianity in the face of modern cultural challenges, with the goal of applying Christianity to all aspects of life.  He “works to equip Christians with an intelligent and thoroughly Christian approach to matters of culture in order to demonstrate the relevance of Christianity to all of life.”

In an August 17 article, Craven writes about seeing his son leave for the Marine Corps.  Near the end of the article, he writes an intriguing paragraph on Christianity in the military:

You may wonder if serving in the military serves the kingdom. Some may disagree but I think it does if you consider the concepts of enacting justice or liberating the oppressed. Every indication at this point is that my son will go to Afghanistan after training; if you know anything about the Taliban then you understand they are an exceedingly tyrannical and evil regime that has inflicted enormous pain and suffering upon the people of Afghanistan.

Such suffering should grieve the Christian and seeking first the kingdom includes the bringing of relief whenever possible. If my son can be used by God to bring such needed relief–to “set at liberty those who are oppressed” as Jesus said–then I pray the Lord do so.

Some who are ignorant of the Christian faith might argue that praying to be “used by God” in the US military is tantamount to praying for Armaggedon.  Such conspiratorial nonsense couldn’t be further from the truth.  Craven notes but one way in which many Christians in the military service feel called by God: to support their country’s stated objectives of protecting human dignity and liberty.

The Christian faith is known for its calls to serve and sacrifice.  There “is no greater love” than that demonstrated by those who would volunteer their lives to serve and, if necessary, to sacrifice.