.for truth is fallen in the street..Isaiah 59: 14b (NKJV)

The young man served two tours of duty in Iraq.  But he died on the streets of Atlanta trying to break up a fight. A life so full of promise cut down in its prime. Family and friends gathered to mourn and remember one special life sacrificed on a field of battle-- right here at home.

Wars are not always fought in faraway places. Sometimes they rage within our hearts. As relentless as crabgrass, anger and animosity sprout there seeded by winds of the latest storm. Maybe we need a heart transplant. Maybe a heart transformation.

Two thousand years ago another young man dared to intervene in an age-old battle knowing He would die, yet choosing to sacrifice his life. A life so full of promise cut down in its prime so all of us might have peace of mind and heart in the midst of many storms. The One who made us and placed us in a garden, knew the weeds would come, but He has provided the weed killer-- forgiveness and love. We can't buy them. The cost would be too high, so they have been freely given. To receive them we must freely give our hearts, every day, to the Peacekeeper.  

For when we were still without strength, in due time Christ died for the ungodly.  For scarcely for a righteous man will one die; yet perhaps for a good man someone would even dare to die.  But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. Much more then, having now been justified by His blood, we shall be saved from wrath through Him.-Romans 5:6-9 (NKJV)

A former Marine from our church traveled to Atlanta for the funeral of his friend. With him we struggled to understand the irony of such a loss so far from harm's way. Daily they had faced death together to keep the peace on the sandy soil of Iraq. When the same call came on the concrete streets of home, his buddy's response was automatic, and costly. The "band of brothers" came from far and near to be with him at the end. That kind of respect and loyalty can't be bought. It is born out of a noble sacrifice that raises the bar and inspires us all to do the same. The good news is we don't have to do it alone.

For I know that my Redeemer lives, and He shall stand at last on the earth; and after my skin is destroyed, this I know, that in my flesh I shall see God, whom I shall see for myself, and my eyes shall behold, and not another, how my heart yearns within me!-Job 19:25-27 (NKJV)