August 23, 2006

• persistence

  Here's a fascinating quote from Marine Lt Gen James Mattis , with embedded comments by Wretchard -

  "It is mostly a matter of wills. Whose will is going to break first? Ours or the enemy's?" ... Mattis, who led the Marines in the invasion of Afghanistan in 2001 and led the 1st Marine Division in the invasion of Iraq and march to Baghdad in early 2003, said he was once asked by an Iraqi when he would leave that country. "I said I am never going to leave. I told him I had found a little piece of property down on the Euphrates River and I was going to have a retirement home built there. I did that because I wanted to disabuse him of any sense that he could wait me out. ... Wars like this are winnable but you have got to have a sophisticated approach and you've got to have very sturdy and spiritually sturdy Marines who can keep their balance in the face of an extremely complex fight. It's not a small issue to wave to kids after just seeing your buddies blown up, but that shows on the most pedestrian level the kind of sturdiness that is needed in what is just a morally bruising environment where the enemy hides among the people."

  An "extremely complex fight"...  yes, that sums it up pretty well.   Meanwhile, Wretchard (who I find to be one of the sharpest non-Christian historical-political commentators I've ever read), looks at the state of things in the world and ends his post in despair and detachment, like Fitzgerald and Sartre.   He is 'close' - he's right that without Jesus Christ / until Jesus Christ returns, peace will never last.

  I'm thinking of writing to him about Jesus...  if you think of it, pray for our interaction, that perhaps he may see the truth too.

   

  Also in the same post, I came across this very interesting quote (which I found to be quite relevant in my studies which will be coming to a point in exactly 20 days) -

  "Nothing in the world can take the place of Persistence. Talent will not; nothing is more common than unsuccessful men with talent. Genius will not; unrewarded genius is almost a proverb. Education will not; the world is full of educated derelicts. Persistence and determination alone are omnipotent. The slogan 'Press On' has solved and always will solve the problems of the human race."
  Calvin Coolidge

   

  Finally, I hope to post some thoughts on Hebrews 9 soon (which has been powerful to me this week)...  especially on the phrase "the consummation of the ages" at the end of the chapter...  Do any of you have some thoughts on the meaning of that?

  • 2:57 pm
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