The Mills Bomb
The hand grenade. Designed in England in 1915 and originally called the “Mills Bomb” after its creator, William Mills, it was the first modern fragmentation grenade. A typical grenade weighs in at 1lb 11.0oz, is 3.75 inches long, and has a diameter of 2.4 inches. The classic design features a safety lever (or the spoon) and a safety pin that requires 10 pounds of pressure to remove (in other words, you can’t remove it with your teeth...sorry, G.I. Joe). Once the spoon is depressed and the pin pulled, the thrower has four seconds before it detonates. This allows the average thrower to launch the grenade around 130 feet before the explosion. The M67 grenade has a kill radius of around 16 feet, with a casualty-inducing radius of approximately 49 feet. Individual fragments can cause injuries as far as 750 feet away, which equals about two-and-half football fields.
When I think about stories that involve a hand grenade, I almost always envision the hero. Like the one in the film Captain America: The First Avenger (2011), the scene where Steve Rogers (played by Chris Evans) falls on a grenade which is a pivotal moment that encapsulates his bravery and selflessness. This scene takes place during a training exercise at a military camp.
In the scene, Rogers is undergoing a test to demonstrate his worthiness as a candidate for the super-soldier program. The test (which no one knew was a test) involves throwing a mock grenade onto the training field. While the other soldiers scatter and seek cover, Rogers' immediate and instinctive reaction is to protect his fellow recruits. He leaps onto the grenade, covering it with his body to shield his unit from the explosion while shouting at everyone to move away.
The grenade turns out to be a dummy, but the gesture is profound. It demonstrates Rogers' willingness to sacrifice himself for the safety of others, a trait that separates him from the rest. This act of heroism not only highlights his inherent bravery but also convinces the officers that he possesses the qualities needed to become Captain America. The scene effectively sets the tone for Rogers' character and his future role as a symbol of courage and selflessness.
Sadly, this is not my story. I was not the hero you remember from the movies where the grenade is launched, and the hero walks away (in slow motion, of course) as the bomb explodes, killing the enemy. No, my grenade was not detonated on the enemy, but rather, on my own family—the ones I love most. I’d been carrying around a “grenade” with the pin pulled and the tongue depressed for years, and I could no longer hold it on my own. So, I released the tongue.
The detonation I set off involved confessing long-lived sin and deceit. At first glance, the explosion appeared to have destroyed my family. It injured many of those close to me and had an impact much further than I could have conceived.
Have you been there? Are you there now? Are you living in sin? Filled with lies and deception? Maybe it’s not on the grand scale of my transgressions, but you know what it is, what they are. I want to encourage you to bring it to the light. Now, hear me: I’m not saying go to your spouse and disclose the most horrific of sins. What I AM telling you is to tell someone. Start with a therapist. Work with a therapist to find the best next steps. I want you to join me on a journey to recovery. A journey that can help you find the hope and freedom of living fully in Christ. Join me in our relentless pursuit.
