All that you have commanded us we will do, and wherever you send us we will go.
Joshua 1:16
Are you familiar with Colonel Harry “Paddy” Flint? He led the U.S. Army’s 39th Infantry Regiment in World War 2 as they aggressively pressed back the axis powers in Sicily, Italy and later in Normandy after landing at Utah Beach.
When Flint took over the 39th Regiment in Sicily, morale was low and it was not a good fighting outfit, but Flint took immediate steps to restore the regiment’s confidence and fighting spirit. He called his men together and, as they watched, he had a painter stencil on his helmet and Jeep their new slogan: AAA-0. It stood for Anything, Anywhere, Anytime, Bar None. Before long all the men had the slogan on their helmets, too.
Flint himself always led from the front, sometimes riding atop the lead tank as it pressed hard against the enemy. He was nothing if he wasn’t all-in. His men followed suit and they soon became an effective fighting unit. The 39th was cited twice by the Belgians for valorous actions and awarded the Belgian Fourragère. It also received two French Croix de Guerre with Palm, the French Fourragère, and three Presidential Unit Citations.
Some 3400 years earlier, the Israelites effectively told Joshua the same thing: We’re all-in. All that you have commanded . . . we’ll do. And wherever you send us . . . we’ll go.
Stories of bar-none commitment challenge me. Especially when they concern things that will matter for eternity. The window of opportunity for us to give no-holds-barred devotion to our Lord will soon be closed. Let’s not squander these moments.