Have you seen the shoulder sleeve insignia of the U.S. Special Operations Command? It’s a dagger pointing upward, which represents the unconventional nature of special forces operations. The insignia also contains three lightning bolts. They represent the ability of special forces to strike rapidly by air, land, or sea.

What about the shoulder sleeve insignia of the 65th Medical Brigade? If you’ve seen it, you know that the sword is pointing downward. This indicates a military unit with a non-combatant posture because the Medical Brigade’s mission is to heal and preserve life at all costs.

I want you to think about those insignias as you read the words from the author to the Hebrews in chapter 4. As you do, ask yourself which one of these shoulder insignias represents the sword of God.

The author to the Hebrews writes, “For the word of God is alive and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart. Nothing in all creation is hidden from God’s sight. Everything is uncovered and laid bare before the eyes of him to whom we must give account” (Hebrews 4:12,13).

Well, that’s a frightening picture the author paints! The Word of God, or the sword of God, pierces to the very depths of our soul, doesn’t it? And it’s not just any sword—it’s a double-edged sword, which means that as you drive it into the cavity of another human being, it penetrates down to the deepest part of their insides.

This is the sword of God. It penetrates deep inside our souls, and it opens up our insides and reveals all things. And there are some pretty dark places in there, aren’t there? I know, because I have those too. Those dark places that you wouldn’t want anybody to know about—the thoughts and desires of your heart. The things that you don’t talk to anybody else about, the stuff that nobody knows about, those impure desires that you might have for somebody else, especially of the opposite sex.

Maybe those thoughts and desires that you have are against other people. Maybe they are selfish desires and selfish thoughts. And God’s Word is clear. He demands pure thoughts and desires from us all the time, toward everybody and about all things.

So then we read about the same sword of God, this Word of God, in the same letter to the Hebrews. The author says in chapter 9, “How much more, then, will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself unblemished to God, cleanse our consciences from acts that lead to death, so that we may serve the living God!” (verse 14).

What the author says here is that Christ offered himself unblemished to God. And that means is if you were to take the sword of God and penetrate Christ and open him up for all to see and peer into the very depths of his soul, you would find purity and blamelessness and righteousness in all his thoughts toward everyone and in all his desires, even to those of the opposite sex. You would find purity even in his thoughts toward his enemies, even in his thoughts toward his family and friends who disappointed him so many times.

And by those pure thoughts and righteous desires, he cleanses our consciences. Your impure thoughts and desires are completely purified and washed and made righteous down to the very depths of your conscience. Now, that sounds like that non-combatant sword of the medical brigade, doesn’t it? A sword that heals and makes whole and gives life.

So we go back to that original question: Which shoulder insignia is represented in our Hebrews passages? The answer is yes—both of them. Because the sword of God functions in both ways and for good reason. It cuts us to our very core and cuts us to the heart, so we repent and then turn and feel the healing touch of that good news about Christ for us. So we then, as the writer says, may go and serve the living God with renewed desires and renewed thoughts and renewed hearts all because of the sword of God.

Prayer:
O Holy Spirit, draw your sword and pierce our hearts so that our sins might be revealed and that we might repent. Draw your sword and pierce our hearts so that we might be healed by the cleansing blood of Jesus.

This week on October 13th, our U.S. Navy celebrates its 249th birthday. Since 1775, the United States Navy has protected America at sea, and so we pray, Lord, that you keep our sailors safe and faithful in their vocation as they defend freedom, preserve economic prosperity, and keep the seas open and free. We ask this in Jesus’ name. Amen.