June 7, 2015
“On June 6, 1944, more than 160,000 Allied troops landed along a 50-mile stretch of heavily-fortified French coastline, to fight Nazi Germany on the beaches of Normandy, France. Gen. Dwight D. Eisenhower called the operation a crusade in which, “we will accept nothing less than full victory.” More than 5,000 ships and 13,000 aircraft supported the D-Day invasion, and by day’s end, the Allies gained a foot-hold in Continental Europe. The cost in lives on D-Day was high. More than 9,000 Allied soldiers were killed or wounded, but their sacrifice allowed more than 100,000 soldiers to begin the slow, hard slog across Europe, to defeat Adolf Hitler’s troops.” (Department of Defense facebook post yesterday.)
Today, very few of those who lived through D-Day are still alive, but the memory of their heroism lives on. I doubt that many who were part of D-Day understood the great ramifications of the event in which they participated. Some leaders did, but the men who assaulted the beaches in France were mostly there simply because they followed their orders. In fact, I doubt that few of those soldiers wanted to be a part of that invasion. They knew very well the risks and the terror of war. Still, they did their duty. They were faithful.
Sometimes, I think of my Christian life in that same way. I may never know the big picture of God’s work and how I fit in. I may do my part and it will seem small, insignificant, or unimportant. But in the end, like the soldiers at D-Day, my job is to be faithful and leave the end results in the hands of the One I serve.
I began my service many years ago, and at that time, I signed over to my Savior the right to tell me what to do. Since that time, I have been responsible to do what He places before me. Marriage, parenting, pastoring, preaching, teaching the Bible, prayer, sharing my life, helping others, serving organizations, and many other responsibilities have been mine, simply because I told the Lord I would be faithful, the best I could understand His directives. I did not aspire to lead Bible studies with Chinese students, to be a chaplain for baseball or a local business. I did not set out to help start a Christian counseling center, chair the board, or be the president of a convention. I did not even know for sure that I would preach and teach the Bible (although that was something that I wanted to do). Instead, I just said to the Lord, please use me and open the doors that You want for me.
Yes, some days I want to quit. Some days I wish I could stay home and hide from my responsibilities, but a soldier needs to show up, give his best and in the end, he must be faithful.
Will you join me in being faithful, like those soldiers 71 years ago?
