Afterwords -- the cost
"Greater love has no one than this, that someone lay down his life for his friends." (John 15:13)
"...who gave himself for our sins to deliver us from the present evil age, according to the will of our God and Father..." (Galatians 1:4)
May 25, 2024
Dear friends,
My wife and I have just returned from a morning walk, where we enjoyed the early summer weather here in Blacksburg. All around, the birds are singing, flowers are blooming, school is out, and in our vacated college community, the traffic is dramatically reduced. Soon there will be aroma coming from barbecue grills, mingled with the fragrance of sunscreen.
Memorial Day is a time, however, that we should especially recognize that the freedoms and well-being that we experience (and take for granted) did not come to us free from cost. There was, will be, and always has been, a high price to preserving life and liberty in this world. Even the birds in our yard, at one moment singing, may soon be fighting wildly to protect their fledglings from predators. In this world sacrificial death is often the cost of preserving the life of another.
This weekend we remember our fallen soldiers. Many Americans have fought bravely and sacrificially. They were seeking, perhaps, only to do their duty, to protect our country, and to insure the future well-being of their families. They were prompted by love and a desire to protect others, even at the cost of their own lives. As G. K. Chesterton said, “The true soldier fights not because he hates what is in front of him, but because he loves what is behind him.” And so, on Memorial Day we honor those who never made it home to loved ones again.
We may imagine that our world would experience lasting peace and justice, without all the pain of warfare and loss, if only people would just sit down and talk through matters. But in this world dialogue does not always work, since many people have hidden motives and hidden agendas, as well as hidden weapons. The Apostle Paul calls this world, "the present evil age." There may be cases of misunderstanding and miscommunication, but there is also much evil in the world. As John wrote, "For all that is in the world—the desires of the flesh and the desires of the eyes and pride of life—is not from the Father but is from the world." (1 John 2:16)
Even as Christians now, we have to learn to die to our self-will and self-interest, and sacrifice for the good of others. Preserving life, and standing for truth, both come at a cost. Good things are worth sacrificing for. Like so many of our brethren around the world, we may even need to lay down our very lives to be faithful witnesses for Christ in this age.
All of this points to the ultimate cost paid for our life and our freedom. In the midst of this hostile world, Jesus laid down his life to liberate us from our enemies and to secure our future, free from eternal harm. He accomplished the Father's will, demonstrated his love for us, gave himself as a Sacrifice, defeated sin and Satan, and opened the doors of heaven to us. The death of God's only Son was the payment, infinite in value, to secure our most costly salvation. It was free to us, but costly to him.
FINAL QUOTE.
“Time cannot be used over again. Time cannot be taken to the cleaner and brought back as good as new, to be used in another way. The use of time is a very permanent thing, whether one wants permanency or not! Time moves from the present tense into the past tense very relentlessly … a minute, an hour, a day, a week, a year, nine years! There it is. Childhood cannot be used over again for another set of preparations nor a different set of memories. The teen-age years cannot be lived over again, but neither can the twenties, nor the thirties…” (Edith Schaeffer, Common Sense Christian Living)
That's it for this week!
Sandy
Image credits. Above, LCVP landing craft (Higgins boats) head for Omaha Beach at sunrise on June 6, 1944; the men can be seen wading ashore, their initial objective being the bluffs above the beach. Below, a US helmet sits atop a captured German machine gun, marking the location at Pointe du Hoc of fallen comrades, casualties of June 6. Both images courtesy of National Archives, and The National WWII Museum. Unless otherwise indicated, all Scripture quotations are from The ESV Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version), copyright 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
