No Greater Love
“Greater love
hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends.” – John 15:13.
Next week we celebrate Veterans Days. A day to celebrate the courage and
sacrifice of our veterans; first known as Armistice Day, to commemorate the signing of the Armistice Treaty
by Germany that ended World War I. The
end of that war came at the
eleventh hour of the eleventh day in the eleventh month in 1918. In 1954, Congress changed the name of the
holiday to Veterans Day to include veterans of all United States wars.
As Christians we should appreciate, like
none other, the sacrifice of the brave men and women that have stepped forward, weighed the cost and
chosen to lay down their lives in service to their fellow countrymen. As Dennis Edward O’Brien, Sergeant, USMC is credited with saying, “Only two
defining forces have ever offered to die for you: Jesus Christ and the American soldier. One died for your soul, the other for your
freedom.”
Dwight
Eisenhower said: “…it is well for us to pause, to acknowledge
our debt to those who paid so large a share of freedom’s price. As we stand here in grateful remembrance of
the veterans’ contributions we renew our conviction of individual
responsibility to live in ways that support the eternal truths upon which our
Nation is founded, and from which flows all its strength and all its
greatness.”
As we pause to honor our veterans, let us be reminded us of the ultimate sacrifice that was paid for us by Jesus Christ. He was willingly to lay down His life for our
salvation. “…because I lay down my life, that I
might take it again. No
man taketh it from me, but I lay it down of myself. I have power to lay it down, and I have power
to take it again”, – John
10:17b-18a. It is through the Lord Jesus
Christ that we have true freedom. “If
the Son therefore shall make you free, ye shall be free indeed”, John 8:36.
This Veteran’s Day as we honor those who have
served our country, and we remember our true freedom come from Jesus, I hope
each of you can claim the words in II Samuel 22:2-4as your
own. “And he said, The LORD is my rock, and my fortress,
and my deliverer; The God of my rock; in him will I trust: he is my
shield, and the horn of my salvation, my high tower, and my refuge, my saviour;
thou savest me from violence. I will
call on the LORD, who is
worthy to be praised: so shall I be
saved from mine enemies”.
Elder Tim White
Ider, Alabama
