I know we have readers from all over the world. Yesterday, Americans celebrated Memorial Day, a day where we remembered all the soldiers who have fought and gave their life for the freedoms that we enjoy today. We celebrate and are thankful for our current men and women who are serving in the military, either abroad or here at home to keep us safe. I am thankful for my own relatives who have served. I have an uncle who served in Vietnam. I know that was difficult for him. My own father served in the Army stateside. My husband and I have a friend who served in Iraq last year and may still be sent overseas for another tour of duty. We are thankful to God that he was brought home safely to his family and to us, but we still pray that he doesn’t get sent back.
It reminds me of this verse in John 15:13 “Greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends.” That is exactly what our men and women in our Armed Forces do for us on a daily basis. I don’t know that I could do this, but there are men and women who are signing up for this even today, knowing that they could be sent to battle and not come home. What kind of person does this?
Jesus. Jesus did this for us all. He didn’t just do it for the United States, Canada, England, France, Spain, Germany….I think you get the point. He did this for every single solitary person on this planet. He chose to leave his home in Heaven, to be born as a mortal man; to live as we live, to experience what we do. He was tempted as we were; he shared our love and our pain. He loved his friends. He wept over the death of his friend Lazarus. He was angered by the money changers at the temple. He even prayed to his Father to take away the pain that he was about to endure, taking on all of our sins, but knew that if it were God’s will, that was the way it was to be done. It happened that way, too. Our Lord, Jesus, took on all of the sins of the world, so that we would be forgiven and share eternal life with him and his Father. “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.” (1John 3:16)
Who sent this “Army of One”? God did. “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life”. (John 3:16) For anyone who has a son or daughter who is in the military and you have lost your child while they served in the line of duty, God knows how you feel. He gave up his only son for us all. He knows the pain of losing a child, but he also knows the thrill of defeat over death. If you believe in the Lord Jesus Christ, if you believe that he died for your sins and that you have been forgiven, you can be reunited with your Father in Heaven….who truly would be saddened to lose you forever.
So while we are remembering the sacrifices made by our men and women in the military, let’s also remember the sacrifice that God made for us, and be thankful that the Lord Jesus has the power to save us all.
2 Comments
Sorry, the comment form is closed at this time.
Christian Nymphos 
Thanks Spiceynutmeg for honoring our service people with your post. As a father of three actively serving sons, I appreciate those that reconize the sacrifices we families must carry to protect our great nation. Just last nite a women whom I was servicing has all six of her children in the armed services! Our children appreciate those who reconize their sacrifice.
Blessings, Chuck in N.C.
In honor of those who have fallen, we watched, “Taking Chance” which was an awesome movie detailing the commitment of an escort in the delivery of a soldier’s remains to the young man’s family.
Had me in silent tears many times since I lived through a 14 year civil war as a child/teen.
What a beautifully presented, artistic memoir portraying the ultimate sacrifice of those who choose to serve their nation in the armed services. Highly recommended.
Thank you for this article, Spiceynutmeg.