a call to arms

now i could never kill a human being
but something stirs in me every time i think about fighting for something beautiful
deep, deep inside my veins i want to fight. not to defend what is good. good doesn't need defending.
i want to fight for those who haven't yet realized it.

war has changed. war used to be valiant, full of honor. you approached your enemy, brave, facing an almost certain death. and what drove you? knowing that you were fighting evil, knowing that you lay down your life for something beautiful:

love

light

peace

good

this is the battle i want to join. lately it's been rushing out from within me. i have no need to defend anything. but an aching lies within me, good fighting evil. inherent good fighting inherent evil.
this is why i say i could never kill a human being.
i don't believe any human still living is beyond the reach of light, of good.
but i could easily take up sword, alongside angels and warriors and valiants of old, looking my foe in the face, knowing that though they slay me, i am fighting for the defeat of evil.
i am fighting for the clutches to be loosed.
fighting for the darkness to be pierced.
fighting to save those who cannot yet see the light.

oh man....there is so much more to this. how much honor is found, to walk into the pit of death not to defend your name, not to defend your father's name, not to defend your city, but to sacrifice yourself to save the lives of countless others.

man i want to do this. i want to be a valiant warrior, with a stout heart. i want to be changed by it. i want to change with it. that my life might take up some meaning along with those who've gone before into the abyss, not knowing the outcome (or whether there might be one).

standing on the brink, i take a quick look behind me and see those walking into the same battle. i look before me and see a glimpse of hope, a light into the faces of those who might still be saved.

and i don't mean to stop. i don't mean to give up, until death take me, or there are none left to fight for.
our Captain never meant for us to lie beneath some already hewn body, waiting for the horn to signal the end.
He meant for us to take up arms, to march into the blows of our enemy, suffering pain and all things dark.

you see, our souls are filled with light. we've already found it. or rather, it has found us. how could we be so selfish as to keep it to ourselves?

as your body is broken and given and poured out, so is your light. poured into those you are fighting. and maybe, your light spilled out can yet grasp them.

so why do we run? why do we believe it's up to someone else?
"a job for the victors" one says
"for the brave, the courageous" says another
"the powerful must fight!"
"the leaders, let them go. it's their responsibility"

we've forgotten the cause for our battle. pick up your sword. perhaps the feel of it will remind you why you fight, what you send your leaders to achieve. perhaps in grasping it, really looking at it, you'll remember you've been sleeping. and as you hear the battle cry, you'll remember that someone fought for you. take up your arms and fight beside your Captain, your King!