The Corporal

God Will Intervene

The Corporal

In this cartoon we find a military person in charge of the firing squad, who is a devout Christian. He is so proud. Later that evening he tells his wife "I may have saved a soul today!" - She says "That is good to hear, how so?" The corporal says, "I told a poor man, condemned he was  ...do not fear, Jesus saves!, you should have seen the look in his eyes, he either believed in salvation - or thought that his sentence was going to get commuted. It was hard to tell, either way the lord was glorified before he died and that is all that counts." "Does it bother you that when you yell FIRE, a man dies?" says the wife. Not at all. I am merely rendering to Caesar his just dues - as it is written, God would intervene if it were not to be so."Ah, God will intervene for the righteous" says the wife.
     The very next day the corporal reports for work and is brought up on charges, charges made in the shadows that he cannot defend. He is to be executed at sundown. At the "wall of bullets" the commandant assures him that "God is good" and "Those who believe in him shall have everlasting life". In frustration the corporal says "I already know about Jesus, I am righteous!" The commandant looks upon the corporal in a way that combines pity and condescension for someone awkwardly clueless. Then he says, "Jesus is not God, have you read neither the Bible nor the Koran?" The Corporal, who has lived his devout life without ever asking even the most obvious questions, is completely befuddled. The commandant steps back - tells the corporal to repent of his ignorance and says, READY.....FIRE!