Americans alive today have served across the globe for the causes of freedom, justice, and humane living. From the vast battlefields of Europe to the rice paddies in Southeast Asia to the deserts in the Middle East and so many more islands, cities, and forgetful places, blood from all generations still alive today remains in those distant lands. Our country sends these young soldiers, sailors, marines, and airmen and their officers to fight on our behalf and to calm on the behalf of others.
Whether voluntarily or because of selective service, on the whole, the American military serves US interests with distinction, honor and compassion. Around this Veteran’s Day our appreciation must not be muzzled. We live in a flawed but free country, secured for us in the past by brave members of the US Armed Forces and maintained in the present by the same.
A Meal and a Handshake
This week, restaurants across the country welcome past and current military personnel to their tables for a free meal. It is a kind gesture I hope many will accept. We Christians cannot leave the recognition to anonymous entrepreneurs. We can do more than Facebook posts and Twitter tweets. Maybe begin with your family and write a letter or an email expressing your thanks for their service. Pick up the phone and call your uncle, grandfather, or cousin and tell him how grateful you are for the service he rendered. Look around the church family and tell a mom or dad whose kid is currently serving that you appreciate their sacrifice to let their kid enlist and commit to pray for his physical and spiritual wellbeing. Be a thankful and loving Christian around this Veteran’s Day.
Real Models for Christians
Some of the most fascinating reading you can do details the efforts of Congressional Medal of Honor recipients. Their stories of bravery, honor, and self-sacrifice convey the best of humanity in the darkest of situations. Further, these accounts display for us in high definition the disposition of Jesus’s disciples – we are soldiers. The Apostle Paul described his Christian friend as his “brother, fellow worker, and fellow soldier” (Phil. 2.25). Paul wrote disciples “must endure hardship as a good soldier(s) of Jesus Christ” and that “no one engaged in warfare entangles himself with the affairs of this life, that he may please him who enlisted him as a soldier” (2 Tim. 2:3-4).
The Christian life is a wartime reality, and we are called to “fight the good fight” (1 Tim. 1:18; 6:12). Like the veterans and active personnel sitting at tables and in booths across the fruited plain, to do so means sacrifice, commitment, discipline, love, and endurance. Isaac Watts captures this beautifully and challengingly in his hymn, Am I a Solder of the Cross?
Am I a soldier of the cross, a follower of the Lamb,
And shall I fear to own His cause, or blush to speak His Name?
Must I be carried to the skies on flowery beds of ease,
While others fought to win the prize, and sailed through bloody seas?
Are there no foes for me to face? Must I not stem the flood?
Is this vile world a friend to grace, to help me on to God?
Sure I must fight if I would reign; increase my courage, Lord.
I'll bear the toil, endure the pain, supported by Thy Word.
As always I welcome your feedback and any suggestions you might have for an upcoming Lunchtime Musing.
Mike VerWay
Pastor for Preaching & Vision