I owe this one to my (famous) twin brother Roger. My “Men of Valor” focus was inspired by a message he gave to my church’s men’s group on a Veterans Day weekend.

His opening thoughts were from the movie “Gladiator.” As Maximus goes down the line of his commanders, they grab each other’s right arm and say to each other, “Strength and honor!” I want you to observe how he engages his men and how they look at him. They know his care and concern for them, and they will follow him wherever he leads them. When he meets with the cavalry that he will lead into battle, he makes this statement: “The things that we do in this life echo throughout eternity!”

You and I are not likely to lead legions into battle, but we are called to model the attributes of our commander, Jesus Christ.

In Joshua 5:14-15, the Angel of the Lord is twice referred to as the “Captain of the host of the Lord” (KJV). In Hebrews 2:10, He is referred to as the “Captain of their salvation” (KJV), speaking of Christians.

Having spent 22 years in the Marine Corps as both an enlisted Marine and an officer, I’ve experienced many types of leaders. Some were inspirational, others not so much. When I met Jesus, I met the One whose life exemplified “strength and honor”!

We can’t look to the world for our role model. When we look at Jesus in the New Testament, we see strength portrayed in a totally different way.

Jesus was fully man and fully God. We see Him hungry, tired, sad, and joyful — all the aspects of humanity we experience in life. From His baptism in the Jordan to His crucifixion on Calvary, He operated in the strength of the indwelling presence of the Holy Spirit.

This man, who had the authority to summon twelve legions of angels when the soldiers came to arrest Him (Matthew 26:53), declined to use His heavenly power and authority, choosing to willingly suffer in obedience to the Father’s will.

Jesus’s strength was manifested by His meekness. Many people confuse meekness with weakness. If you’ve ever watched “The Passion of the Christ,” you know that there was no weakness in our Savior!

Isaiah gives us an insight into the source of His strength, which is also the source of our strength:

“Have you not known? Have you not heard? The LORD is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth. He does not faint or grow weary; his understanding is unsearchable. He gives power to the faint, and to him who has no might he increases strength. Even youths shall faint and be weary, and young men shall fall exhausted; but they who wait for the LORD shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles; they shall run and not be weary; they shall walk and not faint.” (Isaiah 40:28-31, ESV, emphasis mine)

The word “power” in v. 29 and the word “strength” in v. 31 are similar in Hebrew. The idea is that “the waiters for Jehovah,” those who trust and depend on Him, shall have their strength renewed. They shall be “empowered” in a way that is supernatural — not natural.

You may be thinking to yourself, “I’m not a leader,” but a leader is simply someone who has the ability to influence someone in a certain direction. Our commission is to point others to the path of salvation leading to Jesus our King.

The degree to which my life and yours reflect the qualities of strength and honor is the degree to which we will inspire and influence others for the Kingdom. What we do in this life will have eternal consequences As Christian warriors, our strength comes as we learn to “wait on the Lord”!

What say ye, Man of Valor?
Semper Fidelis!