Christianity's Dunkirk Moment

The British evacuation from Dunkirk was a major turning point in the early days of World War II.  Allied British, French and Belgian forces were cut off and isolated on the beaches of Dunkirk, France with Nazi forces closing in for the kill.  What followed was a heroic and unprecedented rescue effort that resulted in more than 330,000 Allied troops being ferried across the English Channel to safety in Britain.  Because of this effort, Great Britain went from contemplating a conditional surrender to Germany to regrouping and contributing to the ultimate defeat of Nazi Germany.


But what does this have to do with the current state of Christianity?  I believe we are in Christianity’s Dunkirk moment.  Satan is engaged in an all-out blitzkrieg to roll back all the advances the Gospel has made in the last nearly two thousand years.  You can see it all around you.  From gender confusion to abortion to the creeping social acceptance of Satanism and other pagan religions, Christians and their beliefs are becoming increasingly isolated.  Social change is happening at a breakneck pace and it is increasingly moving away from the teachings of the Judeo-Christian God.


There are many reasons why I believe we could be living in the Last Days described in the Bible, largely because of a convergence of key prophetic events and the growing likelihood of the imminent fulfillment of others.  But that is a topic for another time.  I view our current role as Christians as similar to those who worked to get the stranded troops off the beaches of Dunkirk.


The British Navy requisitioned all manner of sea-worthy vessels to form an armada to ferry the imperiled soldiers to safety.  So too, God has commissioned individuals of all different backgrounds to be his messengers to spread the only news that can truly bring souls to eternal safety.  It does not matter what your educational background is.  It does not matter whether you are rich or poor, black or white, old or young.  He has given each of us a voice and our purpose is to use it to get our fellow humans to safety before the enemy overruns them.


Every day we should ask ourselves, is there someone who I can help off that beach?  For me another World War II era event comes to mind.  It is that of Oscar Schindler’s efforts to save the Jews.  A scene that has left a profound impact on me is from the movie Schindler’s List, where at the end Schindler laments the fact that he could have saved more people.  He looks at his watch and asks aloud, how many lives could have been saved for the price of that watch?


How many souls could you help save if only you tried a little harder?  Is there someone you know who is stranded on the beach of spiritual uncertainty?  Will you leave them to perish on that beach as the enemy approaches or will you reach out to pull them to safety?


Just as the Germans tried to thwart the rescue efforts by sinking the transport ships, so to Satan seeks to undermine the effort to save lost souls.  He will fill you with doubt about your ability to speak effectively.  He will fill you with embarrassment for exposing yourself has a Christian in a secular society.  He will do everything he can to make the experience as awkward and uncomfortable as possible for you.


But just as the brave sailors crossed the channel to rescue their countrymen, so too we must overcome our fears and save those who face a fate worse than mortal death.  There is a battle for eternal souls being waged and the stakes could not be higher.


How tragic would it be to be enter Heaven and search for familiar faces that aren’t there because they were overtaken by the enemy?  Will you find yourself lamenting how many more you could have helped save or will you rest in the knowledge that you filled your boat and helped to bring the lost safely home?
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