Greater
love has no one than this: to lay down one's life for one's friends.
-
Our Lord Jesus Christ (John 15:13)
This Memorial Day I give thanks for the many men who
followed the example of our Lord Jesus Christ and gave up their lives for
others.
The price these men and their loved ones paid is
staggering. It seems almost too
much. And yet I am thoroughly convinced
and willing to unapologetically state that their sacrifice was truly . . .
For a Good Cause
A day may come when our Lord temporarily allows evil
forces and governments to dominate the entire planet leaving no safe haven for
righteousness and truth until Christ returns.
But that day has not yet come. Over
the last 75 years, God has three times used the US military to play a key role
in restraining evil forces. These three
cases have the following in common:
1. Evil forces
took over some parts of the world.
2. These evil
forces were extremely cruel and brought immense suffering wherever they gained
power.
3. The evil
governments were responsible for the widespread persecution of Christians, and
in at least two out of three cases, of Jews.
4. These evil
forces were seriously intent on literally taking over the world and they made
massive efforts, with some success, in that direction. They brought warfare,
death, and destruction to many parts of the world.
5. God was pleased
to use the US military and our allies to stop them in the first two cases, and
to restrain them in a still ongoing war in the third.
The First
Evil: Fascism
The first of these three evils was fascism in Japan and
Nazi Germany.
After fascist governments took over all of Europe except
for courageous England, and also conquered parts of Africa, and much of the
Pacific, the US military and our allies sacrificed many lives to defeat this
evil.
Only as Europe was liberated did we really understand
just how dark these evil forces were . . .
The Second
Evil: Communism
The next great threat was communism, which began to grow
in power even as WWII was drawing to a close.
Communist nations consistently used violence and persecution to oppose
all belief in God.
Beginning in Russian and China, communism grabbed Eastern
Europe and was using warfare and violent revolutions to make gains in Asia and
Central America. With the Cold War came
the threat of nuclear warfare. But while
much of the war was “cold”, in places like Korea and Vietnam, it turned into
traditional, bloody warfare.
Once again, God graciously used the US military to defeat
and restrain this threat (although it still exists on a smaller scale, the
threat from Russia is again growing, and the danger of communism could
return).
The Third
Evil: Islamic Extremism
The US Military has been ever vigilant and has had little
rest. For even as Communism was waning,
a new global threat was growing. Lacking
the military resources to fight a large scale conventional or nuclear war, Islamic
extremists have turned to worldwide terrorism as their primary tactic. They are always seeking weak and unstable
nations where they can move in and gain control.
Once again, the men and women of the US Military have
been called on to restrain this evil.
This battle is still in progress.
Some of our nation’s sons and daughters continue to pay the
ultimate price, as seen earlier this month when Special Warfare Operator 1st Class
Charles Keating IV died in combat in Iraq:
Going Broader
While none of us alive today who served in the US
military would compare our small sacrifices to those who gave their lives in
service, I hope you will bear with me if I share just a couple of personal
thoughts related to my own short service in the US Navy (I realize that this
would fit more precisely on Veteran’s Day, but it is on my heart now as I
write).
For every brave soldier, sailor, marine, and airman who
made the ultimate sacrifice there are many others who made smaller, but still
real and meaningful, sacrifices to restrain evil in this world and keep at
least parts of it free. They did not
lose their lives, but they did give up a portion of their lives.
During my 5 and ½ years in the Navy, I was blessed to
serve with some really excellent men on three nuclear submarines:
This was near the end of the Cold War. The men I served with often worked twelve or
more hours a day for weeks at a time even while in port and also spent many months
away from their families while out to sea.
I estimate that out of my first four years of marriage to Hope, a cumulative
of about two years I was away from home port, and my experience was
typical. While many young men our age
were focused on just enjoying life, the men I served with were keeping a secret
vigilance to protect our nation, and to some extent our world, from the threats
of evil nations and nuclear war. Our
enemies did not hold back from using nuclear weapons because they were nice,
they held back because they knew we were there and we would beat them if they
challenged us. The US Navy consistently
proved that it dominated the world’s oceans and kept them safe.
So, I thank God for the men who I served with. And I would like to mention that I am
specifically thankful for the senior officers and enlisted men who were patient
with young, immature junior officers like I was.
Going Deeper
The external threat to our nation is still real and
intense. And yet it is not the greatest
threat we face. Moral decay threatens to
do what Nazi Germany, the Soviet Union, and Islamic terrorists have failed to
do. If we continue on the path of
increased sin and sexual immorality which we have been on the last forty years,
a day may come when America ceases to be a refuge for righteousness and a light
for freedom. It is only by God’s grace
that we have been used in this role up to now.
While government does have a limited role to play in
maintaining morality, the only deep, lasting solution to moral decay is the
Gospel of Jesus Christ. So as you
rightly remember the sacrifices of our military this weekend, please also pray
for spiritual revival, renewal, and awakening.
By revival, I mean a lot of people loving Jesus a lot more. That includes a lot of people getting saved,
and a lot of people getting set free from sin, and a lot of people serving more
and giving more and growing more for the sake of the Kingdom of Christ.
Remember our men who gave their lives for our nation, and
remember our Lord Jesus Christ, whose example they were following, and whose
sacrifice makes all other sacrifices meaningful.
Hebrews 13:16 And do not forget to do good and to share with others . . .
