The best way I can describe what it is like reading Kenny Luck’s book, Failsafe: Living Secure in God’s Acceptance, is to tell you this story.
Imagine you are a doughboy in World War One. You are standing in a trench that you have occupied for months peeking out over a berm through your rifle sight across no man’s land at the German trench two hundred yards away. You are homesick. You miss your wife, her smile, her eyes, her touch, her kisses, everything about her. But you haven’t heard from her for months and your memories of her begin to fade.
Next to you is a new recruit, one of many sent over from America to replace your dead comrades who have been picked off, one by one, by sniper fire. You strike up a conversation and discover to your amazement that he is from your small hometown in West Texas. Even more incredible, you learn that before he was drafted, he taught fifth grade in the same grammar school your wife teaches at.
Immediately you begin plying him for any information he has about your wife. He tells you that your wife is fine, but misses you dearly, loves you wholeheartedly, and talks about you incessantly. She smiles every time she mentions your name, reads your letters at school during lunch break over and over again, and has written to you frequently.
A wave of relief washes over you. You realize that you haven’t been receiving your wife’s letters because of some mishap with the army’s mail system, not because your wife has forgotten you. But more than that, you know your wife still loves you with all her being, misses you, and can’t wait until you get home.
Suddenly, your resolve strengthens. You have new courage to face the enemy, a new determination to survive the war, and a new hope to return home to the loving embrace of your wife. Your fellow soldier’s first hand account of your wife’s love for you has become your lifeline.
Men, you and I are in a spiritual battle. It is a battle for the souls of men and women. As believers, our eternal reward depends on how we fight this battle, not to mention our impact on the lives of those around us. If we are trying to fight our battle without a deep understanding and conviction of God’s love for us — not just a head knowledge of his love for us, but a wellspring of personal experience of his love — then we are at risk of losing that battle.
If I am describing you, then you need to read Kenny’s book, Failsafe. It will strengthen you for the fight, reconstruct your self image, give you hope for the future, and free you to love others around you with God’s love. Failsafe is a delightful book; one of the most refreshing and helpful Christian books I have ever read.
Since 2003 New Commandment Men’s Ministries has helped hundreds of churches throughout North America and around the world recruit teams of men who permanently adopt widows, single moms and fatherless children in their congregations for the purpose of donating two hours of service to them one Saturday morning each month. We accomplish this with a free training site called New Commandment Men’s Ministry Learn how to mobilize your men’s ministry to meet every pressing need in your church at newcommandment.org.
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Learn how to form teams of men for every widow, single mom
and fatherless child in your church at NewCommandment.org.
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