Welcome to Tuesday and our Veterans Day tribute to those who have so diligently served in the defense of our country! We salute you today as we reflect on where we are as a nation and where we could have been if not for your devotion and tenacity for our nation's values and principles. Thank you for all that you have done and continue to do for life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness!!!
While we are appreciative of our veteran's efforts and service we have recently seen activities in our nation that in my opinion does a great disservice those same efforts and activities. The pervasiveness of our most recent midterm elections malign the very tenets of liberty that our service folk have fought to preserve. In our selfishness and lack of anything close to civility (vote the way I think you should vote or we can't communicate as adults,etc.) we have been callous to the efforts of our heroes. This blatant disrespect is evident even down to local elections as mudslinging and "digging up dirt" on opponents have peaked in the contests of our politicians. Trends would dictate that the next general election could very well be worse. There was a time when political labels stood for specific platforms. While these platforms were different, the ultimate goal was the unity of our nation and betterment for all Americans. Unfortunately, this can not be said of recent days. Perhaps it is time to remember phrases from great patriots and veterans of the past such as "...give me liberty or give me death..", "...remember the Alamo..." or as we partnered with our allies, the British, in World War II, "...we gotta sink the Bismarck..."
Sinking the Bismark was such an important episode in World War II that it inspired a 1960 British War movie. (Sink the Bismarck trailer) The movie then served to inspire Johnny Horton's telling of the tale to assist in familiarizing American markets of the history behind the ships the Hood, the British Fleet, and the Bismarck.
"Sink the Bismarck" became a crossover hit for Johnny Horton and went to #3 on Billboard's Hot 100. Horton, who also hit #1 with "The Battle of New Orleans" and #4 with the title theme to the movie "North to Alaska" (North to Alaska trailer), tragically died in a car accident at the height of his career in November of 1960 shortly after North to Alaska debuted in theaters. He will ever be remembered as the country crooner who could tell a good war story.
Our great nation has seen its share of battles. For the most part, we have been blessed to come out on the winning side of most of these actions. The major conflicts in which our country has participated, for the most part, were a unifying factor. But ever since the Viet Nam war, it seems we have lost our desire to be on the winning side. One only need to look at the "Operations" we have seen since September 11, 2001, to see that we seem to not have the stomach for war anymore. I have an idea that the condition of our national hearts may play into this. It seems we don't fight to win anymore. Could it be we have lost the ultimate reason to defeat our enemies?
Please do not misunderstand what I am saying. The brave men and women who serve EVERY DAY in our armed forces deserve our gratitude and support. They also deserve our prayers. They are, to a person, the best fighting force the world has ever seen. They are engaged in unimaginable situations for the defense of their country. We owe them a debt of gratitude that we will never understand.
However, our armed forces serve at the behest of a country that seems to be the most disunited as we have been since the Civil War. We are a country whose political class cannot seem to behave in a civil manner. A country whose election rhetoric would cause those who bravely served in previous generations to think we were in a civil war. What is the cause of this unrest? Do we need another World War to bring us back together and unite us as Americans? I'm not sure that is the solution to our current disunity.
Don't think for a moment that I wish to go back to the days where the entire world was at war and had chosen sides. While there was much unity engendered due to the perilous times, there was also heated conversations regarding the United States role in each war. However, There is only one side I am interested in seeing as victorious at this point and that side has nothing to do with nationality. (As an aside, we must consistently guard against the temptation to allow nationalism to become an idol) It is this winning side that has begun to see the greatest characteristic distance developed between it and the characters of our national hearts.
In The Gospel of Jesus according to His disciple Matthew, Chapter 24, verses 1-31 Christian Standard Bible/The Message paraphrase of the Bible/King James Version of the Bible parallel, Jesus promised us that war would be a part of life. In this passage, Jesus was telling His disciples about when the end of time would come. The prophet Isaiah described the end of time as one where "He (God) shall judge between the nations, and shall decide disputes for many peoples; and they shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruning hooks; nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war anymore." Isn't that something in which you would like to be a part? There are ways in which we can usher this time.
As Jesus Movement musician Keith Green put it, "this generation of believers is responsible for this generation of souls..." Our national heart can only be changed by believers being intentional about the salvation and restoration to God of our generation of souls. This mentality must permeate every nuance of our beings and assist in the transitioning us to be a nation that is blessed. Psalm 33:10-22 CSB/The Message/KJV
To be a Psalm 33 nation requires believers to demand civil discourse and hold each other accountable to show love. Jesus laid out 2 commands. Love God and love others. Matthew 26:33-40 CSB/The Message/KJV As we show love to one another it becomes a magnet for all to see. As we hold fast to the commodity of unity and love, it will be light in which the world will be drawn.
We've expounded on this theme a lot recently. That's because I am so firmly convinced that I don't do a good enough job of loving folks. Do you? If I can borrow from a message from my pastor ("Who I Am in Him" week 5 - Pastor Tim Noel, November 11, 2018, Trinity Baptist Church, Searcy, Arkansas), the only way believers achieve more love for God and others is to exercise God's filling in us because of whose we are in Christ.
Want to honor a Veteran? Love them. Hold fast to the commodity of unity regardless of political affiliation. Want to see our nation and the world be at peace? Love everybody so much that you shine in a world of darkness. Allow that light to draw others to it. Want to see more folks at your church when the doors are open? Be better at loving those who attend. Why do any of this? "...'cause the world depends on us."
As a final tribute to Veterans, Lt. Cmdr. Dan Crenshaw put it best recently on, believe it or not, Saturday Night Live:
“This is Veterans Day weekend. Which means that it’s a good time for every American to connect with a veteran. Maybe say ‘thanks for your service’, but I would actually encourage you to say something else. Tell a veteran, ‘never forget’,” he continued. “When you say ‘never forget’ to a veteran, you are implying that as an American, you are in it with them. Not separated by some imaginary barrier between civilians and veterans, but connected together as grateful fellow Americans, who will never forget the sacrifices made by veterans past and present.”
Or as the Veteran who passed away yesterday (November 12, 2018) might have put it...EXCELSIOR!!!
Stan Lee (World War II Veteran served in the United States Army Signal Corps from 1942-1945)
'Til Tuesday,
Serving HIM by serving You,
randy
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