"He Fights"

During the American Civil War, Abraham Lincoln went through commanding generals for his Army of the Potomac one after the other. McClellan. Burnside. Hooker. McClellan again. Despite those things that recommended these men to the Commander in Chief, they ultimately disappointed the hard-pressed President again and again. Meanwhile, Robert E. Lee, who would have been Lincoln's first pick had he decided to fight for the Union, repeatedly frustrated the Union Army's efforts to extinguish him and end the war quickly.

At last, Lincoln found the man he was looking for in Ulysses Grant. In praising Grant, Lincoln summarized his high opinion of his new commander in two words: "He fights".

Something about Lincoln's brief accolade grabs me. Of course, all his generals "fought" in the broad sense of the word. But what Lincoln admired about Grant was his focus, his determination and his relentless pursuit of victory. It is what he had been looking for in a commander for a long, long time. I confess that I want to go down fighting -- for the highest and best for my wife and children and for the other people and things that God has put within my field of influence.

Who do you know who "fights"? Mark that man or woman. It is a quality we need to see much more of in the times in which we live.

I would like the Lord to say of me: "He fights". I would like to say of each of my sons "he fights", too. Not just in the general sense, but in the noblest sense.