A Great Soldier

     Today is Memorial Day. It makes me humble to think of all of those who have sacrificed to protect the land that God has given us. It also makes me proud of those men in my family who has served and sacrificed. My father was in the air force. My father-in-law was in the navy. My uncle was in the army and served in the Vietnam War and today suffers from the aspects of Agent Orange. My step father was a Marine and served in the Korean War. The most amazing story is my Uncle Von. He was a happy and loving man. I never knew as a child what a war hero he was. In fact, I have only learned about it in the last few years. He is a recipient of a Silver Star. A Silver Star is right under the Medal of Honor. He was in the Korean War and he was in battles that have been declared as some of the worse battles in history. One battle, he literally came close to freezing to death. Most of his fellow soldiers died or experienced severe cases of frost bite. The other battle was against the Chinese. Thousands were killed during that battle and he was one of the 25 men who survived. They hid out in a bunker that had been covered over until Americans stumbled across them. Nobody was looking for them because they were assumed to be dead with the rest of the troops. It amazes me that he was such a happy man when he had endured these terrible experiences.

     Though I honor my Uncle for his amazing service to our country and for what he endured to give us the freedoms we have; I honor him even more for the part he played in giving me my spiritual freedom. I was not raised going to church. I did not learn about God from my parents though they did nothing to hinder my knowledge. However, it was my uncle who picked me up for church three times a week for over 10 years. Now that I am adult, I realize what an inconvenience that must have been at times. He drove the church bus that picked up kids for church and he would always pick me up first. Because of his faithfulness to love me and his willingness to take on the role of seeing to my spiritual needs, I heard, understood, and accepted the gospel of Christ when I was ten years old.
     He is one of the people I owe for my freedom as an American and he is one of the people I owe for my freedom from the bonds of Satan. I thank God for him and I am blessed to have had him in my life. He was a great soldier for America and he was a great soldier for the Lord.

     Are you a good and faithful soldier in God’s army? Are you making a difference to someone’s spiritual freedoms?

You then, my son, be strong in the grace that is in Christ Jesus. And the things you have heard me say in the presence of many witnesses entrust to reliable people who will also be qualified to teach others. Join with me in suffering, like a good soldier of Christ Jesus. No one serving as a soldier gets entangled in civilian affairs, but rather tries to please his commanding officer.

2Timothy 2: 1-4