The End of the Line

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n the middle of a war, commanding a group of soldiers defending a strategic hill, is not where you would expect to find a college professor.  Flying bullets, exploding ordinance, and smoking cannons seem an unfit and poor substitute for chalk, books, and blackboards.  The safety and security of the classroom is the complete opposite of the danger and mayhem found on the front lines of a war and yet this is exactly the setting from which we draw our study from God’s word today.

The place was Gettysburg.  The date was July 2, 1863.  The man was Colonel Joshua Chamberlain from Maine.  His assignment was to defend a hill known as Little Round Top and to prevent the Rebel Army (the southern states) from capturing the hill.  Colonel Chamberlain was trained in the art of Rhetoric and also undertook seminary studies.  He chose to become a professor and this was his profession at the time of the Civil War.

 

His assignment at Little Round Top was simple.  He and his men were to stop the advancing Rebel army.  They were placed at the very end of the line, the extreme left flank of the Northern Army.  From this position there was no retreat.  From this position the enemy could break the line and inflict horrific casualties.  From this position, the entire Northern Army could be exposed if Colonel Chamberlain and his men failed in their assigned duty. Not a very inspiring place to be, is it?  But Chamberlain accepted the assignment with no questions and he performed his duty faithfully and admirably.

Ronald F. Maxwell captured this wonderful scene in his movie, Gettysburg, based on the bookThe Killer Angels by Michael Shaara.  The scenes of the battle show in vivid detail how the Southern Army tried several forward assaults only to be refused every time. Finally, with their ammunition spent and many of their number wounded, Chamberlain had a decision to make. He knew the enemy would advance one last time and he knew he had no ammunition with which to fight.  He knew he had to stand firm at all cost and hold that position.  He ordered his men to affix their bayonets and to charge forward in order to refuse the line.  His tactics worked perfectly and that day the battle for Little Round Top was won at the end of the line.

This scene is one with which the Apostle Paul would have been very familiar.  In fact, he was very familiar with it.  Paul knew that the Christian life is a battlefield where intense struggles and skirmishes are constantly being waged.  Paul also knew, as Chamberlain demonstrated much, much, later, that sometimes the best way to win a war is to stand firm, to hold our position, even if that means we are at the end of the line.

1 Corinthians 15:58 tells us, “Therefore, my dear brothers, stand firm. Let nothing move you. Always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord, because you know that your labor in the Lord is not in vain.”  Notice Paul’s first two sentences in this passage.  They leave little room for doubt as to his intended meaning and purpose. No matter where we are in our walk with God, no matter what the circumstances are around us, no matter what sounds we hear sights we see, we are to hold our ground and not yield.  God is on our side.  He is doing battle for us.  When the orders come to hold our ground, that is what we must do.  We must not give the enemy so much as an inch of ground or he will cause trouble and difficulty among the ranks.  We are to thwart his advances and refuse the line simply by standing firm upon the foundation of Jesus Christ.

Even when we feel as if we’ve been place at the end of the line and no one knows we are there.  Even when it feels and seems we are all alone with no help, no guidance, and no support.  Even when we have no knowledge of how the overall battle is going and it appears we are at the point of defeat.  God’s word is clear—stand firm!  He will not let you fall.  He knows where you are.  Every place on the line is important and every position is carefully surveyed by our Lord.  He knows where you are, he knows what you are facing, and he knows what you need to be victorious.  Remain in formation, dig in your hills, and stand firm.  The outcome of the battle is sure—we win!!

Wherever you are today in the thick of battle, know that God is with you.  He has not forgotten you and he will never forsake you.  It doesn’t matter if you are at the head of the conflict, in the middle of the battle, or at the end of the line.  Every place is important.  Every skirmish counts.  And every soldier is always supported and accounted for!  Stand firm in him today!