While puttering around doing routine chores, Nancy and I often have the television on in the background. Although we regularly watch news, we like the reruns from our childhood on ME TV and other channels.
In addition to the Brady Bunch, Green Acres, and Gilligan’s Island, we especially enjoy Hogan’s Heroes. This sitcom is set in a WWII German prison camp where Allied soldiers are “stationed” to sabotage German operations. Although war is never a laughing matter, it’s always entertaining to see how the characters cleverly accomplish their missions without detection. Kudos to the screenwriters for their craft and to the actors for their skill.
While the commandant of the prison camp, Colonel Klink, boasts of never having had a successful escape, what he and Sergeant Shultz don’t know is how their prisoners routinely leave, conduct their daring assignments, and return undetected. Such scenarios require viewers to temporarily suspend their reasoning to allow for such fetes although the storylines are amusing and hopeful.
In one episode we recently watched, the Germans had plotted all the instances of destruction on a map. They then drew lines from each of these to the hub of Stalag 13 where the Allied prisoners were housed and it became obvious to the Gestapo that it was the home base of these attacks.
Of course, Colonel Hogan and his men managed to evade detection by arranging a delayed explosion that occurred after they had returned to their barracks. The Germans were dumbfounded once again and are portrayed as simpletons. This played well with American WWII veterans twenty years afterward in the 1960s when this comedy series first aired.
That particular episode, however, gives some insight into what each church should be doing. According to Jesus, we live in enemy held territory. He said that His followers do not belong to this world and that the world will hate us. Although we may not be in a prison camp, we are certainly behind enemy lines where our adversary causes all manner of suffering and evil.
Our commission, as faithful soldiers of Jesus, is to sabotage as much of the enemy’s work as possible. Through our ministries and efforts, the church can and should be taking territory for Jesus by frustrating the devil’s strategies. By sharing Jesus’ love, mercy, and grace, we thwart Satan’s plans to steal, kill, and destroy.
We have to be careful, however, not to lower ourselves to Satan’s strategies. In 2 Corinthians 10:3-5, Paul tells us, “For though we live in the world, we do not wage war as the world does. The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world. On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish strongholds.” Although Paul doesn’t go into detail about these weapons, he tells us elsewhere that prayer and God’s Word prevail against evil and for which the enemy has no defense. I John 4:4 assures us that He that is in us is greater than he that is in the world.
As we pray and faithfully obey God, Jesus will lead us in knowing where our energy and efforts can be best applied to not only undermine Satan’s destructive plans, but to advance God’s Kingdom. It should be easy to connect actions and ministries of love, service, and truth in our communities to our churches like the spokes in that wheel to Stalag 13.
Each Christian should also impact his or her home, community, class, workplace, nation, and world in positive ways for Jesus. As we do that, the work of the enemy is frustrated and defeated while the Kingdom of God advances.
Most importantly, we need to share the saving Gospel of Jesus with all those around us who are not themselves the enemy, but are often deceived by him. As they place their faith in Christ, Jesus’ army grows and more of His will is accomplished. Let’s take territory for Jesus today! Blessings, George