We should all be so grateful to live in a land where we’re free to worship the Lord and hear His Gospel message. But freedom is never free. It always comes at a cost. The freedom we enjoy today came at a tremendous price—it was bought and paid for by our veterans, both past and present, making the ultimate sacrifice for their country and fellow citizens.
On November 11, 1918, the world celebrated the Treaty of Versailles. This treaty signaled the end of World War 1. Soon after, the United States instituted a national holiday—Armistice Day—to remember the sacrifices of our WW1 soldiers. In 1954, Congress changed the holiday’s name to Veterans Day so that Americans could remember the sacrifices of all our soldiers.
As we reflect on the sacrifices made by so many of our nation’s veterans, it is a good time to consider what the United States would be like if they had not made those sacrifices. What would it be like for Americans to live under the iron-clad and oppressive rule of fascists such as Hitler or Mussolini?
Or, to switch the analogy, how would we like to live in certain Middle Eastern or Central Asian nations where women are beaten for appearing in public with a man who is not a relative? To live in Yemen, where citizens are kidnapped and tortured because of their profession of faith in Christ? To live in Zimbabwe, where a totalitarian ruler has stolen everything from his people for decades on end?
These questions are hypothetical for us because we, in fact, live in a nation that provides us great freedom. And we have that freedom because the men and women in our armed forces secure it for us, at great cost to their families and sometimes sadly at the cost of their own life.
One of the key teachings of Jesus that undergirded his ministry on earth was a call to serve one another. He said to his followers, “Whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant” (Matthew 20:26).
The Apostle Paul echoed this same sentiment when he wrote, “Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. Rather, in humility value others above yourselves, not looking to your own interests but each of you to the interests of the others” (Philippians 2:3-4).
And of course, Jesus himself modeled this when he died on the cross for us. “Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one’s life for one’s friends,” he told his disciples shortly before his death (John 15:13).
You see, when we serve one another, when we sacrifice ourselves for another person’s good, we are imitating Jesus, and in doing so, we are living the way we were truly made to live. When we honor our veterans, we say, “Thank you for your service.” Because that’s what it’s all about — serving their nation.
Ronald Reagan: “We should always remember that in a hostile world, a nation’s future is only as certain as the devotion of its defenders, and the nation must be as loyal to them as they are to the nation. Those of us who have not served in our military cannot truly know the sacrifices of those who have. But we can express our gratitude to them and for them in sacrificially significant ways.
We can stop on Veterans Day at 11 a.m. for two minutes of silence, during which we can pray for our veterans, asking God for his greatest blessings upon them and their families. We can ask God for ways through the year we can serve those who have served us so faithfully.
And we can fight in the moral and spiritual war that is raging in our nation these days. I will not forget the response of one veteran when I asked him how I could thank him for his service: “Make this a nation worth fighting for.”
It is not enough for us merely to remember veterans and military personnel once a year on Veterans Day. It is incumbent on us to minister to veterans and other military personnel everyday. Here are some ways we can do so:
1. Thank them. Make it a point to find veterans, look them in the eye, and thank them from the bottom of our hearts.
2. Support their spouses and families. If they are active personnel, find ways to support their spouses and families while they are deployed for months at a time.
3. Connect them with each other. Veterans understand veterans better than anybody else. Churches are especially well poised to foster friendship and support networks within the local body, or among and between local churches.
4. Participate in fundraisers for veterans and their families. Wounded warriors and other veterans find themselves financially disadvantaged. As Christians, we can show love to them by organizing and participating in community fundraisers on their behalf. This type of tangible display of love can change their lives for the better and, for those who are unbelievers, perhaps open their hearts to Jesus.
5. Be a good citizen. One good way to disrespect a veteran is to disrespect the nation on whose behalf they fight or have fought. Conversely, one good way to honor a veteran is to be a good citizen by voting during elections, fighting for justice, and praying for our nation.
May we, as Christian Americans, do everything we can to minister to veterans in the hopes that they will have many years and a good life during and after their service.
I hope you’ll join us at The Good News Journal in honoring the brave men and women who served the cause of freedom in the past and those whose service today enables us to continue to live and worship freely.