Scripture 1
John 3:16-18
GRANDPA’S
WAR STORY
Grandpa,
tell me a story."
It's
getting harder to remember.
As
the daily count of fallen soldiers mounts, it becomes ever easier to forget the
person behind the name.
So
it falls on the legacy holders. The parents, children and spouses. The ones who
are left behind. They tell the stories the soldiers cannot.
The
world of a soldier is supposed to be unremarkable. Go in and get the job done
as a team. Don't stand out. One military, one mind. No individuals.
Only
after they have died will we learn their story.
War
story, that is.
And
it's not just Grandpa's war story, anymore. We've had five major conflicts in
as many generations, so everyone's got one. It's the story of our little cousin
who just graduated from high school. It's our daughter.
War
becomes the great equalizer.
So
we have one couple who are raising their grandson. The boy's mother died while
serving in Iraq. They tell her story. And we sense that every time they speak
of her, every time they say her name, they're sharing her with us.
Sometimes
the stories have happy endings. Often they do not. And for many of the
storytellers, the telling is a gift. All they ask is that we listen. No
response is necessary. Now we know about their soldier. We're thinking about
them. Our thoughts honor them.
We
don't always need words to honor the memory of those who sacrificed. Photos
give an insight into a world that we can only imagine.
We
look at the images of the women who served stateside in World War II and wonder
"Was this her first job? Was she afraid?" And more whimsically:
"How'd her hair stay in those fantastic pincurls all day?"
This
weekend as we hurry to the pool or rush to the mall, let's take a moment to
honor those soldiers who have died and those left behind.
We
may see a man wearing his military uniform on Monday.
(And
it still fits, thank you very much.)
Memories
flash across his face and we want to ask. But we can't. So we wait.
Then
he starts talking. About the friends he lost, the one who saved his life, and
the uniformed soldier becomes a person, a man.
He's
not Grandpa, but suddenly all we want to do is sit on the floor and tuck our
hands under our chin.
And
listen.
LOVE EVERYONE
Love Everyone is the 3rd of three parts of
what it means to be the Church with Heart. 1) Love God, primarily through
worship-the great commandment 2) Love one another, primarily through small
groups-the great commitment and 3) Love All People
primarily
through Ministry and Mission. Part 3 is the purpose of a soldier. A soldier is a soldier to love all
people. We usually think of soldiers as
tough non-feeling fighting machines. Not
so – the best soldiers are lovers. They
do what they do because of their love for family, country and all
humanity. I thought part two – love one
another would describe a soldier, in this case meaning loving those from the
United States. Not so, our nation has a
love and respect for all human life and we are not shy about defending others
in a foreign land because we have a love for all people. That kind of love is Christian love. There are those who want war because they
like to fight and there are those who are against war no matter what the
reason. The majority of soldiers who don
a uniform for the United States Army, Air Force, Navy, Marine Corps, and Coast
Guard do so as an act of love.
As Christians, on this Memorial Day
weekend, we honor those who have given the ultimate sacrifice of love – their
lives for our freedoms.
This is a principle in
our country based upon what we learn in scripture:
John
15:12-13
My
command is this: Love each other as I have loved you. 13 Greater
love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends.
Who is the greatest soldier who ever lived? The one who paid the ultimate sacrifice out
of love for ALL people – his name: JESUS!
John
10:14-18
“I
am the good shepherd; I know my sheep and my sheep know me— 15 just as the Father knows me
and I know the Father — and I lay down my life for the sheep. 16 I have other sheep that are
not of this sheep pen. I must bring them also. They too will listen to my
voice, and there shall be one flock and one shepherd. 17 The reason my Father loves me
is that I lay down my life — only to take it up again. 18 No one takes it from me, but
I lay it down of my own accord. I have authority to lay it down and authority
to take it up again. This command I received from my Father."
Even as much as Uncle Sam needs
soldiers, so too the King is looking for a few good men and women. God is
looking for soldiers to enlist in his army to
Sing p for the Kin’s draft are taking place right
now. So does that mean anyone who
enlists in God’s army must be willing to lay down their life for the King and
his Kingdom? Yes!...But not so fast, an equally important commitment is
required. Very few will be called upon
to physically die for the savior – all are called upon to die to self AND to
live for him. Rom 6:11-12 In the
same way, count yourselves dead to sin but alive to God in Christ Jesus.
I
recently watched a video from my ordination and the preacher talked about a
soldier in the bible who lived for Christ the King and his Kingdom by bringing
people to Jesus. As a soldier he grew
the army of God by bringing others to Jesus.
John
1:40-42
Andrew was
one of the two who heard what John had said and who had followed Jesus. The
first thing Andrew did was to find his brother Simon Peter and tell him,
"We have found the Messiah" (that is, the Christ). And he brought him
to Jesus.
John
6:8-9
Andrew spoke
up, "Here is a boy with five small barley loaves and two small fish, but
how far will they go among so many?"
Matt
4:18-20
As Jesus was
walking beside the Sea of Galilee, he saw two brothers, Simon Peter and his
brother Andrew. They were casting a net into the lake, for they were fishermen.
"Come, follow me," Jesus said, "and
I will make you fishers of men."
At once they left their nets and followed him.
Andrew was a soldier in the King’s
army doing what he could to advance the kingdom by bringing people to the King
– he didn’t wait for them to come, he went fishing for them. He was a dedicated soldier laying down his
life by living his life for the King!
Rev
3:1-6
"To the angel of the church in
Sardis write:
These are
the words of him who holds the seven spirits of God and the seven stars. I know
your deeds; you have a reputation of being alive, but you are dead. Wake up!
Strengthen what remains and is about to die, for I have not found your deeds
complete in the sight of my God. Remember, therefore, what you have received
and heard; obey it, and repent. But if you do not wake up, I will come like a
thief, and you will not know at what time I will come to you.
Yet you have
a few people in Sardis who have not soiled their clothes. They will walk with me,
dressed in white, (the soldier’s uniform) for they are worthy. He who overcomes
will, like them, be dressed in white. I will never blot out his name from the
book of life, but will acknowledge his name before my Father and his angels. He
who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.
1
John 3:16-18
This is how
we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down his life for us. And we ought to
lay down our lives for our brothers. If anyone has material possessions and
sees his brother in need but has no pity on him, how can the love of God be in
him? Dear children, let us not love with words or tongue but with actions and
in truth.
Are you a soldier enlisted in the army of the King of
kings – Jesus Christ?
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