Dear friends:

Although I was a career officer, now retired, in the United States Air Force, I have always greatly admired and respected the United States Marines, for their history, their discipline, their gallantry, and their uniforms. 

So yesterday when I saw their new television commercial, I was very touched.  See http://michellemalkin.com/2008/01/20/sunday-night-inspiration-the-new-marines-commercial/ .  A must-see.
 
This new and elaborately produced commercial dubbed “Americas Marines” was unveiled last week.  The 60-second ad portrays real-life Marines in dress blues in scenes from coast to coast, starting at a lighthouse in Rhode Island; running through several small towns and the snow-capped Rocky Mountains; and ending with Marines under San Francisco’s Golden Gate Bridge. The Marines' Silent Drill Platoon is featured.

The descriptive words jumped out at me.  I immediately related it to our calling as disciples of the Lord Jesus Christ.
 
As you look at that 1-minute ad, think about how the attributes of a good Marine apply to our calling as a “good soldier of Christ Jesus”:
 
Dedication
Honor
Courage
Discipline (same root word as disciple)
Loyalty
Enduring hardship
Enduring danger
 
One big difference: We serve not just a human leader, and a temporal nation, but the King of Kings and His eternal Kingdom!
 
May these comparisons and realities stir you afresh to an unwavering commitment to our Lord, who “died for all, that those who live should no longer live for themselves but for him who died for them and was raised again” (2 Corinthians 5:15, NIV).
 
“Endure hardship with us like a good soldier of Christ Jesus. No one serving as a soldier gets involved in civilian affairs -­ he wants to please his commanding officer.... Reflect on what I am saying, for the Lord will give you insight into all this” (2 Timothy 2:3-4,7, NIV).

Jim