Tip of My Iceberg

Veterans Day was yesterday.

A day of special recognition for us growing up, we always got the day off school. Many of our parents had chosen to fight in wars because patriotism was a high value, taught to and caught by us kids.

Freedom was a topic of great pride and appreciation in our family. Not just the military, but all who stood on the front lines to protect what we’ve been gifted with and enable us to move forward as a country of hope.

These were people who saw their responsibility to stand in the gap for those of us who didn’t, couldn’t fight, and provide better opportunities for those left behind.

Freedom costs. Loss isn’t limited to an individual in a grave. It spreads to family and friends and those who loved them. Grief is the response of gratitude for a life well-lived.

Reality–human life is the currency of war.

War happens around us every day.

It’s not merely the big battles fought overseas. Soldiers aren’t always dressed in battle array and camouflage.

People aren’t the enemy.

The Bible is clear that the unseen forces of darkness are what we battle against daily. Forces of evil that long to undermine anything and everything good that God has given us. Lies and deceit that keep us from seeing truth and hope.

We get to choose what side we’re on. The beauty of free will.

Evil is something that has existed since man decided to go his own way in the Garden of Eden, to turn his back on a perfect relationship to see what he could accomplish on his own. Apart from God. After that, murder, lies, hatred, divisiveness all became options for us because we were introduced to life on our terms without a relationship with God.

We see it today where people are wanting to do whatever is right in their own minds and not care about anyone else. Our personal preferences become more important than the value of others’ lives and wellbeing. It’s a battle for the hearts of people everywhere–will we choose to put the needs and desires of others first, or will we be our own little gods, tending only to our needs and desires?

War isn’t just about guns and big battles. It’s about one person viewing another and choosing not to believe they have the same value and worth.

God sent Jesus to bring reconciliation into the world, with God first and then with one another. We exist on a common ground where none of us are as much as we think we are. We need a Mediator to deal with our differences.

Jesus.

In Him, we fight from victory focused on eternal hope.

Veterans Day is a reminder that life has a price of more than a mere inconvenience. Many have counted the cost and chosen to serve our country to provide us with amazing opportunities and privileges not experienced in much of the world.

There is a greater war out there, one for the souls of men and women everywhere, and we have the opportunity to choose sides.

With God’s help, we don’t have to side with the enemy.