Today's the 144th Anniversary of the Battle of the Wilderness in 1864 where Robert E. Lee and his Grey Backs bumped into Ulysses S. Grant and the Boys in Blue in the woods of Virginia near Chancellorsville, some say by accident, some say by his plan. In any event, it was a knock down, dragged out conflagration that started the Campaign of 1864 with a bang...pun intended.From April 17-23, we at the Grey Havens watched "Band of Brothers" for the first time (no doubt, there will be multiple viewings) and were greatly impressed with both the quality of the production and the story itself. It is based on Stephen E. Ambrose's account of Company E, 506th Battalion, 101st Airborne during World War II. The one line in the whole series that impressed me most was, "We're paratroopers. We're supposed to be surrounded!" That struck me as the description of Christians here on earth. The Bible says our citizenship is not of earth, but in heaven, so we've been providentially dropped in the middle of a heavenly war, in Enemy territory, with all the weapons, provisions, and support we need. The paratroopers were all volunteers, but we've been drafted from before the foundation of the world. The battle for each of us will rage off and on until the Grim Reaper comes for us in a Chariot of Fire, it's that simple. Better read Ephesians 6:10-20 again to remind you of where you stand in the whole deal!
We also started watching the dvd version of Ken Burns' "The Civil War" on Friday, so I'm feeling rather militaristic these days in a soldiers-of-Christ-arise sort of way. Once again, I quote Charles Spurgeon's comment on Psalm 47:4, as much for myself as for the few of you reading this: "Had any other condition been better for you than the one in which you find yourself, divine love would have placed you there."
"Ashoken Farewell," the theme song of "The Civil War" just rolled around on my computer, so before I get too soppy, I'll sign off.
Got hardtack and salt pork?
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