The Unknown Battlefield

In Arlington National Cemetery, as almost everyone knows, there is a very special place.  It is called the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier.  If you have ever seen it, you realize instantly that it is a place of deep unwavering respect.  It is a very solumn place, a place with extreme dignity.

As Christians, we are commanded multiple times through the words and examples of Jesus to be kind to others.  All others.  Every single one.  It is a theme that runs throughout the whole New Testament, and it couldn't be more clear....especially by His examples.

Question....Do we all not like to be treated kindly?  Especially on those days when there is a lot going on in our lives and heads.  You know, those times we are dealing with "stuff" that is on the verge of bringing us down.  Stuff that is weighing us down and playing heavy on our hearts.

We all have an Unknown Battleground within us.  We might be struggling with a relationship, a family matter, a financial matter, or even a spiritual matter.  And often times we don't want anyone to know about that particular battleground...so we try to mask it and fake it like "all is good".  At those times we can easily reach a tipping point where, because of the battle going on within us, we can come close to exploding.  And oftentimes, just the mere fact that someone who didn't know about that particular battle was kind to us kept us from going over the edge.

Consider this:

We all fight a battle once in a while.  None are immune.  We don't know if the guy we just met for lunch has a battle going on or not (unless, of course, he says something about it).  But what we do need to know is that if we follow the words and actions of Christ, and are always kind, we just may help some person as he stands on that unknown battleground.