Greater love has no man than this; that he lay down his life for a friend.  --John 15:13

     Soldiers never forget, even when the rest of us do.  Every Veteran's Day. Every Memorial Day.  Rain, snow, wind, sun; it never matters. 

     Their faces bear the marks of war; their souls carry memories that rest like heavy stones in the deepest corners of their being.  Some never feel young again. 

     The older ones are used to tiny crowds in local cemeteries.  It was never about the crowds, anyway.  Courage isn't just a single act, and it's seldom a public event, so they've reconciled themselves to the eerie quiet of ceremonies played out in front of the few. 

     Worry lines stamp foreheads barely covered by caps.  Once-strong shoulders now sag beneath the weight of years, and the proud march of the young is replaced by the slower step of a soldier well along in years.

     Each year, their ranks thin as we gather to remember their friends and comrades.  Time steadily erodes the number of these eyewitnesses to history, these brave few who carry not only their own stories but the stories of their absent comrades, who offered up what Lincoln called "the last full measure of devotion." 

     Only those who have seen war's cost can fully comprehend the intimacy of these times of remembrance.  The rest are left to witness their remembrance, and be moved by the gentle way these warriors treat their fallen friends. 

     The soldiers of the past stand out still as molders of our future.  They understand that the hope of the next day's peace is purchased by yesterday's sacrifice.  They know a nation that fails to honor its debt to the fallen soon fails to honor its debt to the living.  So these soldiers who have already done so much, serve yet again by getting up and getting dressed-every Veteran's Day and every Memorial Day-and marching one more time through heat or rain or cold to caress with their presence the souls of the absent. 

     Today, as our nation rests from regular labor to remember our veterans; and to acknowledge in as careful and respectful way as possible the incredible eternal ache of mothers facing empty chairs at dinner, or fathers fishing by themselves forever, let our remembrance be universal.  Let their vigils not be lonely.

     Remember.

     Please.

--Randy Kilgore

rkkcak@aol.com

Return to Honor

"Suffer hardship with me, as a good soldier of Christ Jesus."   --the apostle Paul, in II Timothy 2:3

     [Twenty-one steps. Turn to face the tomb and pause for twenty-one seconds. Twenty-one steps in the opposite direction. Turn to face the tomb and pause for twenty-one seconds. Twenty-one steps in the opposite direction.. Twenty-four hours a day. Three hundred sixty-five days a year.  Rain, sleet, hail, thunder, lightning.]

     In September, 2003, a terrible storm bore down on Washington, D.C.  For the first time in the history of the Tomb of the Unknowns, soldiers guarding the burial site of these honored dead at Arlington National Cemetery were given permission to leave their posts for safety if Hurricane Isabel came.  The guards response? 

     Not a chance!

     So, through driving rain and potentially mind-numbing winds, while the city of Washington scurried for cover, the soldiers of the 3^rd U.S. Infantry  (Old Guard), marched twenty-one steps, turned to face the tomb, pausing twenty-one seconds in respect for soldiers who died for their country "known but to God", and then paced off twenty-one steps in the opposite direction.

     Who could not be moved by that tribute?

     Christians sometimes resist the language of the soldier in the description of their commitment to Jesus Christ.  Scripture does not.  In fact, terms like "fellow soldier" "soldiers of Jesus Christ" and "armor of God" are embraced, recognizing duty, honor, and sacrifice as some of our most noble human traits.

     Our chance to be in fellowship with God was purchased at a terrible cost. The agony of Jesus' prayer in the Garden of Gethsemane the night before His death moves us beyond words.or it should. The horrible assault on His physical body by the torturous crucifixion moves us to utterly humbled gratitude.or it should.  The unspeakable attack on His divine nature by the heaping of our sins on His sinless self cements our passionate loyalty to whatever duty He calls us to.or it should.

     Sixty seconds a minute, sixty minutes an hour., twenty-four hours a day, Christians stand guard over the honor of God, choosing by their actions to glorify Him or to cause Him deep sorrow.

     Every breath we take, every job we do, every person we encounter, every crisis we face brings us a chance to serve God, to honor Him by remembering our duty to Him, to be willing to sacrifice our very existence if His service demands it.

     Even in the hurricanes of our lives, when the driving rain of pain, and the mind-numbing winds of struggle tempt us to seek the shelter of surrender and inaction, a tomb filled and emptied two thousand years ago beckons us to pace our own twenty-one steps, pause to honor Christ, and take the next faithful twenty-one steps of service guarding the glory of the One whose sacrifice gives us eternity.

      Grant us strength, O Lord, this very day to persevere, returning honor to Your name in the culture where we serve.

--Randy Kilgore

rkkcak@aol.com