Regarded as Winston Churchill’s finest oratorical moment is a speech given to the House of Commons of the British Parliament on June 4, 1940. France had essentially fallen to the Nazis that May, and he had to instill hope in the British people while acknowledging the dire turn the war had taken with the defeat of not only an ally, but a neighbor - which meant the Germans were one step closer to English shores. He had to be honest about the situation, and yet make his country believe victory was not only possible, but still somehow assured.
I first became aware of the most famous part of this speech, indeed the part by which it is now known, because a heavy metal band I love used it is the intro to one of their songs. To wit:
“We shall go on to the end. We shall fight in France, we shall fight on the seas and oceans, we shall fight with growing confidence and growing strength in the air, we shall defend our island, whatever the cost may be. We shall fight on the beaches, we shall fight on the landing grounds, we shall fight in the fields and in the streets, we shall fight in the hills; we shall never surrender...”
In my head, the guitars come crashing in at this point, but it goes on. Churchill said that even if the island (England) were to fall, the empire beyond the seas would continue to fight. Moving words to be sure! Are we willing to fight for marriage? The attacks that marriages are subject to are more subtle than the blitzkrieg, but no less real. The enemy is not as blatant but no less set on destruction. Our resolution to fight must therefore be no less.
Satan brings many weapons to bear on Godly marriages in the world today. Our society is practically built on lust. It’s easy to demonize - and avoid - the gratuitous nudity on Game of Thrones, or the glorification of S&M in the Fifty Shades books and movies, but temptation is all around us, from beer ads to magazine covers to the waitresses at Hooters. Broadcast media constantly mocks and degrades marriage, making it seem outdated, sad, and dysfunctional. TV shows and movies offer up various alternatives as hipper, cooler, more fun and more reasonable. In the face of all that the enemy brings to bear on marriage in general, and our marriages in particular, are we willing to fight? Are we ready to struggle to overcome the messages of this fallen world? Are we determined to dig in our heels and do the work necessary to make out marriages pictures of God’s love, to build unions that honor Him and the gifts we’;ve been given. Are we able to fulfill the vows we made when breaking them and starting over with someone else would be so much “easier.”? Scripture offers encouragement throughout.
Romans 12:2
Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind.
1 Timothy 6:12
Fight the good fight of the faith; take hold of the eternal life, to which you were called
Galatians 6:9
Let us not grow weary in doing what is right, for we will reap at harvest time, if we do not give up.
Be encouraged! In any hard situation, the easy path is rarely the right one. It is in our struggles that we learn and grow. When we choose grace and forgiveness, when we choose selflessness and humility we become more Christlike. Those things go against our fallible human nature, and often living them out will feel like a fight. Those are outcomes though that are worth fighting for - at all costs.
