To Battle We Go: A Few Good Men (And Women)
The oldest slogan associated with the U.S. Marine Corps is “A Few Good Men.” This dates back to a newspaper advertisement published in Boston on March 20, 1779, by Captain William Jones, asking for “a few good men” to enlist for Revolutionary War service as Marines. The Marine Corps was not quite four years old then, but its reputation as an elite fighting force was already evident in the implication that just a few Marines would be enough to win the war. The Marine Corps still uses the slogan nearly 250 years later, and it was famously used as the title of a 1992 movie starring Jack Nicholson and Tom Cruise.
This slogan came to mind recently when I had the pleasure of hearing Dr. Stephen Mansfield speak at the commencement of the newly commissioned Defenders of Justice session of officers. Dr. Mansfield, a Church historian, recalled how the early Christians, though few in number, significantly impacted Roman culture and society through their radical commitment to serving others, believers and non-believers alike, despite official persecution from a cruel and corrupt Roman government. But even the Roman government recognized the positive impact of these early Christians and eventually came to support their efforts. Not surprisingly, the early Church’s service to others attracted many to Jesus, and the church grew by leaps and bounds in its first few centuries, though it was never more than a tiny percentage of the total population of the Roman Empire.
Of course, this idea of using only “a few good men” to do the fighting goes all the way back to the Old Testament when God insisted that Gideon reduce the 32,000-man Israelite Army to just 300 before going to battle. God did this so that He would receive the glory when the battle was won, thus strengthening the faith of the Israelites and attracting unbelievers among all the nations to Him.
We Salvationists are also few in number, and it can be discouraging to compare our little Army to the gargantuan task of spreading the gospel and meeting human needs both in our communities and worldwide. But we’ve never been anything but a tiny minority at any time in our history. Anything that we have or will accomplish as an Army brings glory to God because it is obvious that it didn’t happen on account of our strength or skill, but only by Him working through us.
The Defenders of Justice session of new officers numbered only twelve this year, and many of our corps are not much larger than that. But the Lord doesn’t need big numbers to accomplish His will; in fact, He actually prefers a small fighting force so that our faith will be strengthened and His love and power seen by the world. As Dr. Mansfield pointed out, Jesus changed the world and history forever with only twelve disciples. All He needs is a few good men and women with a radical commitment to service – like us.