Legion of Love: The Importance of Living a Lifestyle of Love With a Wartime Mentality

By Corey Shonborn

Love. War. How do they relate? In this book I will explain what it is to live with a wartime mentality and the importance of living a lifestyle of love through it. When we have a wartime mentality it combats what I believe to be one of our generations greatest enemies - complacency. Come on the journey with me to find out how to live to win

• Language: English
• Publisher: Corey Shonborn
• Release date: Dec 10, 2015
• ISBN: 9780997035711

Book preview

LEGION

OF

LOVE

The Importance of Living a Lifestyle of Love

With a Wartime Mentality

Legion of Love – The Importance of Living a Lifestyle of Love with a Wartime Mentality

By Corey Shonborn

All Scripture quotations, unless otherwise indicated, are taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV®. Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984 by Biblica, Inc.™ Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved worldwide. www.zondervan.com The NIV and New International Version are trademarks registered in the United States Patent and Trademark Office by Biblica, Inc.™

Scripture quotations marked NKJV are taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

ISBN 978-0-9970357-1-1

Published by Corey Shonborn

Editorial by Jack Minor Publications |www.jmpublications.com

E-Book distributed from the United States of America

CONTENTS

Acknowledgments

Introduction

Section I – Fundamentals

CHAPTER 1 – Love And War 

CHAPTER 2 – Who Is Our Commander?

CHAPTER 3 – Who Is Our Enemy?

CHAPTER 4 – The Purpose Of Being Alone

CHAPTER 5 – What Is The Most Important Thing?

CHAPTER 6 – What About The Church?

CHAPTER 7 – If God Is Love, How Is There Evil?

Section II – The 4 P’s – Propaganda, Passion, Perspective, and Pressure

CHAPTER 8 – Propaganda

CHAPTER 9 – Passion – What Good Are Feelings?

CHAPTER 10 – Perspective

CHAPTER 11 – Pressure – A Sense Of Urgency

Section III – Battles You Must fight

CHAPTER 12 – Social Media

CHAPTER 13 – Disciplines

CHAPTER 14 – How To Respond When Wounded

Section IV – Love’s Arsenal

CHAPTER 15 – 1 Corinthians 13

CHAPTER 16 – 1 Corinthians 12 Pt. 2

CHAPTER 17 – Prayer

CHAPTER 18 – The Sword 

CHAPTER 19 – Uncomfortable Love

CHAPTER 20 – Harsh Love

CHAPTER 21 – Giving

EPILOGUE

Acknowledgements

I give all credit to God first and foremost, who made all things and then to everyone who has spoken wisdom into my life whether they are writers of the bible, people I do not know, or those I am acquainted with. If anything you learn from this book is good, inspiring, or true, it is a result of God and the people He's put in my life to help shape me.

A special thanks to my family for supporting me. Dad, Mom, Erin. I love you

Whoever has prayed for me or believed in me, taking a chance to let me speak or lead something, I thank you so much. This book is a result of your love towards me.

Thank you to those who have helped make this book happen: The Freeman Family, Virt Family, Luke, Mel, Sis, Jessica, Andrew, Nina, Artyom, Kiet, Katilin, and many others.

Introduction

War is almost always discussed in negative terms. We often talk about the death and destruction along with the atrocities that accompany war, in order to teach people that it is something to be avoided. It may seem strange, but I am going to take an opposite approach to this matter of war. In fact, I am about to push this idea of war so much that it will hopefully change the way we live. The reason I want to push this concept is not that I am for seeing people hurt, suffering, and killed but to drive home a sad truth that the Marine Corps proclaims, Nobody wants to fight. But somebody has to know how.

Most of us love the concept of war; at the very least we enjoy watching it in a movie. I've heard it said that war movies are among the top grossing films. With all the horrors that come with war it begs the question, why do we love it so much?

One of the reasons is while war brings out the worst in men it also brings forth many examples of the noblest qualities of humanity. This can easily be seen in one of history’s bloodiest conflicts. World War II gave a platform to Hitler and the Nazi's who exemplified the unspeakable evils mankind is capable of. Among these was the Holocaust where over six million Jews were sent to the gas chambers simply for being Jewish. However, the bible says,

Where sin increased, grace increased all the more.(Romans 5:20) The truth of this verse can be seen in the witness of Dietrich Bonhoeffer and the small resistance that stood up against the Nazi agenda from the very beginning. If you were to see Bonhoeffer he wouldn’t have struck you as being a spectacular man. Yet, what made him great was how he responded to his environment and circumstances around him when so many others kept silent. How he reacted to hate was courageous at the very least. Until we are willing and able to recognize the very real presence of evil, we won't see a need to step up and fight it. This is why they say the devil’s greatest trick is making you think he doesn't exist. If we can be convinced that there is no such thing as wrong, then we will have no reason to do what's right. Being armed with the knowledge that there is right and wrong leads us to realize that all of life is a war, with its ensuing tragedies. 

Think about first century Christianity. The Christians of this time period knew all too well from first-hand experience that life was an ongoing war. Although they tried to follow the commandment of Paul to live at peace with everyone.(Romans 12:18) The first Christians were hunted down like dogs. Some Christians tend to idolize those days of the first church and while there was much to be commended in their spirit of obedience, do those who look back fondly on those times remember the price they paid for the victories we focus on? We should look at the basic principles they lived by and apply them the best we can, knowing that we live in a much different world today than way back then.

WE WILL LOVE NO MATTER WHAT

One of the key basic principles was to love in the midst of hate. How the world will know us is by our love. We are called to love. Our love is what sets us apart from the world. This is one area where Christian warfare differs sharply from conventional warfare. In order to effectively fight in a typical war, you must dehumanize the enemy. In World War II we did not fight the Germans and Japanese, our enemies were the Krauts and the Nips. In Vietnam the enemy was the Gooks. This is because it is easier to kill a Nip or Gook than a person. However, for Christian soldiers our enemy is not people, but the sin or evil force behind the person. As such, we must exhibit love. If you don’t, you cannot successfully fight in this spiritual war.

To love is to not conform to the tactics of the enemy. In Vietnam the communists sharpened bamboo sticks and coated them in dung. They then hid them in the grass as booby traps so when a person was cut by the sharp wood they would develop a life-threatening infection. Despite the temptation, American troops never did the same thing to the enemy. When we return hate with love, it is pouring hot coals on the heads of our enemies. To love is to defeat evil. Our job is to love. We can't save anyone; instead the power of love breaks the chains of depression, shame, and sin’s bondage.

Love overrules prophecy, it overrules tongues, and all knowledge we could ever hope to have. The apostle Paul said love was far more important than any of those things. He went on to say that if he had all of those gifts, without love it would amount to nothing. (1 Corinthians 13:1, 2)

This is why I am wary of organizations that put the spotlight on tongues and prophecy, claiming this is the primary proof that God is in their life while nothing could be farther from the truth. The same could be said about hollow knowledge. While all of these things are indeed important and have their proper place, what is more important than any of them is love and how we manifest it.  We should learn and move in the gifts, but we need to make sure while we are doing so that we have genuine love; not something you check off a list but something you are constantly renewing and testing yourself on. We would all agree that being under the control of another is not freedom, but chaos isn't freedom either, at least not the freedom Jesus gave us. It scares me when some Christian’s tout this idea of freedom and brag on their liberty in Christ, suggesting it means that they can do whatever they want without spiritual consequences, whether it be drugs, sex, or witchcraft disguised as being prophetic.

While Jesus freed us from the penalty of sin, which is an eternity in the lake of fire, we are told not to use this freedom as a cloak of maliciousness. (1 Peter 2:16) We didn’t receive this precious freedom that Jesus purchased for us with His own blood just so we can follow all of our passions. He gave us the freedom to worship Him, and freed us from our sinful nature. You have been set free from sin and have become slaves to righteousness. (Romans 6:18) It's about love and truth, not what can I get away with. I’m not trying to offend anyone from the get go, I just want us to all be on the same page. If you are not a Christian and all that is confusing, don’t worry about this yet.

By no means do I think I have everything all figured; rather, I looked at all the areas I struggle with and realized that, I need to hear this. I am writing primarily for myself, with the hopes of helping others. What good would a message or sermon be if I lived up to it perfectly? If I lived up to it perfectly it would have to be set at a very low bar.  Breathe constantly. I can do that. 

The massiveness of all that godly love entails is what does more justice to the call. Before we go any further in this book, I want it to be made abundantly clear. I have no right to produce this book. I don't even deserve to have my fingers work to type this out if it weren't for Christ's blood washing over me. I've failed so many times; far more than I'd like to admit.

While some may think this is a self-defeating attitude, I would respectfully disagree. This is a good place to be in. Some have forgotten their utter brokenness and hopelessness, and fail to realize we are completely helpless without Christ. This book is birthed out of more failures than successes. And by successes I am referring to my faithfulness and quick obedience. Praise God for His everlasting faithfulness. We are so blessed to have a God who is faithful, even when we are not. 

If I've ever hurt you, I'm sorry. Whenever I write or preach a message, it is almost always first directed at me. I'm preaching to myself, and I'm writing to exhort myself. 

THE END BEFORE THE BEGINNING

Love is greater than faith because you can have faith in anything. Love is greater than hope because you can hope on anything. But true love is something that is given and shared only by God. Love changes people's lives in a way greater than faith or hope could ever fathom or imagine because love inspires hope and faith. True love is far superior to any knockoff the world can come up with. Let me be clear, by no means am I saying that you won't feel pleasure apart from God. In fact, the bible acknowledges there is pleasure in sin for a season. (Hebrews 11:25) I'm just saying that any love that isn't revolving and flowing from the Creator is nothing but cheap love. No matter how good you think it may be, His love is infinitely better. In comparison to His love, anything else could hardly be considered love. This book is to help encourage and nudge you closer to experiencing and sharing this love. There is no love greater than the love that comes from our Abba Father. 

Have you ever felt this love? If the answer is no, the good news is it's not too late for you. As long as you are alive you are qualified to enlist in the army of the Lord. You don't want to go through your life, never volunteering for the most outstanding military force ever fielded, fighting in the greatest and most important war the world has ever seen, do you? Would you rather go through life making a difference or simply coasting through it, relying on the gallantry of others? You don't want to die after living a wasted life...do you? Trudge forward, it's not too late for you, it's all worth reaching for. Love is waiting. 

SECTION I

Fundamentals

Chapter 1

Love And War

Life is a war. The struggle, as they say, is real. Very real. In this struggle, it is easy to think that there is very little room for love and enjoyment. And yet, love is something that we all seem to search for. I want us to realize in the depths of our being how powerful of a weapon love is.

Although love is a weapon, it is also a shield. Because of these multi-faceted capabilities, it should be impossible to get through this life without love. It's one of the Christian's best weapons in his or her arsenal. The amount of damage love can do is unfathomable. It has far greater power than the mightiest ICBM with its capability to destroy entire regions. The power of love is absolutely incredible and awe-inspiring.

I believe most people mistakenly think of love as only consisting of some gushy, soft feeling. They think that love is weak, and will leave less of an effect on an individual compared to the far reach of hate. I can admit that sometimes it feels that way, but love is powerful. In fact, love is at its greatest potency when we are weak.  Love is not some flitty, fickle, feeling. (Say that five times fast.) Love is far beyond what we could possibly imagine, begin to encapsulate, or depict because love is indeed a terribly lofty idea. But at the same time, love can be known at a more nucleic level. We all experience it in life, in different forms and times. We find it difficult to put to words, but we just know it through experience, not just on an emotional level, but a physical and spiritual level as well when our lives have been graced with this very big thing called love. 

When asking random people to define love, I get a wide array of answers. Some say, Love is a feeling. One said that it was a powerful emotion that is quite unpredictable. Others said, To be accepted unconditionally. Another said, Love is giving without expecting anything in return. Someone else said, Love is God. One said that, Love is an attraction based on sexual desire. Someone said, Love is selfless. Another jokingly said, A warm fuzzy sweater. What are some of the most famous quotes on love? 

Love is composed of a single soul inhabiting two bodies. - Aristotle

Where there is love there is life. - Mahatma Gandhi

You can search throughout the entire universe for someone who is more deserving of your love and affection than you are yourself, and that person is not to be found anywhere. You yourself, as much as anybody in the entire universe deserve your love and affection. - Buddha

Love is when the other person's happiness is more important than your own. - H. Jackson Brown Jr.

We are born of love; Love is our mother. - Rumi

Love is a serious mental disease. - Plato

Love always brings difficulties, that is true, but the good side of it is that it gives energy. - Vincent Van Gogh

Darkness cannot drive out darkness: only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate: only love can do that. - Martin Luther King, Jr.

(http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/topics/topic_love.html

http://www.goodreads.com/quotes/tag?utf8=%E2%9C%93&id=love)¹

But what is love really? Some of these quotes seem to contradict each other. So what is this thing called love?

SO I'VE GOT SOMETHING TO SAY?

We can't measure love, and in situations where we are consumed by ecstasy, we are altogether baffled by how transcendent love really is. Volumes and volumes have been written on the subject of love. Movie after movie tries to depict love. In fact what movie is a good movie if there is no love in it somewhere? It need not be romantic love, though that is probably the most popular today. But love is so much bigger than the romantic kind. For most humans, romantic love between two people is considered the highest form of love that they can dare dream about. And after all has been said and done in this area, does it seem arrogant for me to think I have something to add to the conversation?

I'm not postulating that I have anything really new to say on the subject, rather I would like to remind you of things you already know, or shine light on things that have already been taught, but you may not be aware of. I'm not sure there can really be enough said about love. Just look at how many times the word love appears in the bible. Just in the New Testament alone it appears over 230 times! (In the Old Testament the word love appears 310 times in the NIV. So much for the God of the Old Testament only being a God of wrath and hatred!)

Love is powerful. Genuine love is in some aspects the exact opposite of the way it is popularly or pessimistically depicted. Love is found in the cross.

IT’S NOT THE CROSS

The cross was a rather primitive form of torturing and killing someone through the horrific death of crucifixion. It was such a horrible thing to be put up on a cross. In addition to the pain and agony, it was considered one of the ultimate shames, dying in public while everyone sees you naked and writhing in torment, yet unable to get free or obtain even a measure of relief from the torture as your arms and legs were pierced by nails to hold you to the wood. And think about it, I'm sure they didn't have clean and polished nails like