It has been said that only two defining forces have ever offered to die for you . . . Jesus Christ and the American Soldier . . . one died for your "soul" and the other died for your "freedom".
There is a lot of truth in that. Truly, "greater love has no one than this, than to lay down one's life for his friends." (John 15:13) But do we really know that kind of love, do we experience it in our friends and acquaintances, in our own lives, and in the God we serve. That love that goes above and beyond the call of duty even unto the call of death? Would we go there, do that, be the one that loves beyond love itself? Are we passionate about that kind of love - that self-less kind of love that cares about others more than our own being. The solders that have sacrificed for the cause of "freedom" feeling a greater passion and cause. . . even when self-sacrifice may be the end result. Thank you - we honor each of you and also your families that paid the price for the freedom we so often take for granted. Help us remember the life you gave for us . . . for me!
Again, "greater love has no one than this, than to lay down one's life for his friends." (John 15:13)
Jesus Christ was the ultimate "sacrifice" for the sins of the whole world. He died for each of us - for your sins - for my sins - for the wrong things in my life. And He gave His all - everything He had when He suffered and died on the cross. Everything so that I could experience a different kind of freedom - a freedom from the chains of sin, guilt, and destruction. A freedom of love, grace, and mercy. A love that goes far beyond our understanding and reaches deep into our hearts and lives changes us and makes us like new creatures. "Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new. (2 Corinthians 5:17)It is then we are able to understand the kind of love that would lay down ones life for another. The kind of love that has a passion behind us pushing us forward to that same freedom of country in the sacrifice of men and women willing to fight for that freedom and most importantly - freedom from sin redeemed by the sacrifice God made when he offered His Son, Jesus Christ to save the world!
