On Sunday we looked at a passage of scripture where the apostle Paul encourages Timothy to live as a good soldier for Christ. Today is Veterans Day. It is a day when we express appreciation and honor to all those who have served our nation in the armed forces. The US military has many different expressions. Across the branches, all total, there are hundreds of different ways one can serve. But it seems like there are certain attributes that are consistent throughout.
If you will allow me the alliteration, what I see most consistently across all expressions of the military are service, sacrifice and selflessness. These attributes are built into the DNA of the armed forces. We literally call what they do “military service.” It is a life built on putting the needs of others ahead of their own. There is a sacrificial nature to military service.
Those who take up this call will sacrifice time, comfort, safety and more in order to fulfill the work that they have been called to. And there is a sense of selflessness where the mission is of such importance that our service men and women will freely lay down what is best for themselves in order to fulfill the mission to the very best of their ability.
Honestly, that sounds a lot like what it means to be a disciple of Jesus Christ. We are, first and foremost, servants. We are servants of Christ and we are in service to the world. To be a Christ follower is a sacrificial work. Christ calls us to give of ourselves in ways that are a sacrifice of time, comfort, resources, talent and more.
And to follow after the example of Christ is to be selfless. We have been called to a great, world-changing mission. To fulfill that mission will require selflessness. It will often require putting the mission of Christ ahead of what is easiest, most comfortable or most convenient for us.
Military service is a sacrificial and selfless work. I hope that today you have the opportunity to thank someone who has served. But I also hope that we will be inspired to reflect that same heart of sacrificial and selfless service. If we are to fulfill this great mission of sharing Jesus with the world, it will require the very best that we can offer.
God bless,
Pastor Steve
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