My Soldier Can Beat Up Your Soldiers

When I think of the Marines, I think of two things:  Call of Duty and my high school cafeteria where the Marines would come every few months and set up their pull-up bar in hopes of luring in some recruits. They are tough; they are strong; they are scary. Military people in general intimidate me. However, I saw a commercial for the U.S. Marine Corps that gave me another type of feeling:

 

After I watched this, I felt different inside—I felt proud, almost warm and fuzzy. The very first line is this:  “Your Marine Corps’ way of life is to defend the American way of life.” The advertisement proceeds with several shots of Marines doing Marine stuff—walking around tanks, flying helicopters, and sitting in some unknown countryside—but also Americans doing everyday activities, like rounding up cattle, waiting in the subway station, and enjoying coffee at a café. One of the last shots is of a mother and her young son smiling and looking at the statue of the soldiers holding up the flag at Iwo Jima. It ends with this: “Everyday, no matter where we serve, we take a stand for our nation, for each other, for us all” followed by the Marines’ tagline. The whole while there is trumpet playing majestically in the background.

It gets to me! This advertisement makes me proud to be an American. More importantly it gives me hope. It gives me hope that our nation will be safe for now and for future generations, thanks to the Marines. If I had children, I would have no problem turning to them and telling them they are safe after watching this commercial. I think a big thing with hope is having a sense of security to go along with it, which is why the Marine Corps ad struck a cord with me. It made me feel safe and secure, giving me hope that things will continue to be that way in the future.

It’s interesting where we find our hope. David wrote Psalm 20 when he was about to go to war. My favorite two verses are 7 and 8:

 ⁷ Some trust in chariots and some in horses,
but we trust in the name of the Lord our God.
⁸ They are brought to their knees and fall,
but we rise up and stand firm.

Whereas other nations trusted in their own power (“chariots” and “horses”), David trusted in God to guide his nation and keep Israel secure; this is where his hope was. David knew that by trusting in God, Israel would be standing firm at the end of the day.  As Christians, we should have the same sense of security that David did. God provided then, He provides now, and will continue to provide for his people. This is a much greater, much more secure sense of hope than I will ever feel. Yes, knowing that my country is being guarded by very able soldiers gives me hope and security. Even more than that, however, is knowing that my God will be faithful to guard me in many more areas than just the physical, and that is all the hope I need.