Forts
made up a big part of my childhood experience. My brothers and I, along with
our playmates, were always building some kind of fort. In the wintertime, we
made forts of snow. In the summertime, we hobbled together salvaged wood,
cardboard, and plastic sheeting to build forts. When the weather was nasty and
we were stuck indoors, we made forts out of blankets, cushions, and books. But
the fort that stands out most in my memories was the fort I made out of bales
of straw in the hayloft of my grandparents' barn. Secure in my fort, I
successfully fended off the valiant assault of my two brothers in in the great
corncob war. It was the stuff of legends.
The
purpose of forts is to provide safety and security — or at least a sense of
them. While they may have given us a feeling of being safe and secure, none of
the forts of our childhoods could protect us from any real threat. A fort made of snow, salvaged building materials, or bales of straw, let alone
blankets and pillows, cannot afford any protection against the people or
things that would harm a child. Thankfully, most of us grew up without the need
of stronger forts than those of our playtime. But now that we have grown up, we
need a fort in our adult lives that can defend us against those things, forces,
and people that are actively seeking to harm and destroy us. Unfortunately,
many adults go through life constructing forts of proverbial snow or straw or
blankets to fend off the pain and suffering of broken relationships, abuse,
betrayal, crime, shattered dreams, and seemingly hopeless circumstances.
As we
celebrate the 497th anniversary of the beginning of the Reformation, we are
reminded that we have a fort that is stronger than everything that assails us
in this life. More than a fort of our own construction, this fort is a fortress
that God has built for all who look to Him for their safety and security. It is
not a flimsy fort made out of the materials at hand, but a fortress crafted
according to God's eternal plan and hewn from the Rock of our salvation. When
we take refuge in this fort we are assured that in it is "our refuge and
strength, an ever-present help in trouble." This is a fort made of love,
of grace, of power, and of promise. "The God of Jacob is our
fortress."
