Veterans of all Kinds

Therefore if the Son sets you free, you really will be free.  John 8:36

Have you ever really thought about the term “Veteran”?  I always associate the term veteran with someone who is seasoned, experienced in something, like a veteran mom or someone who is experienced in a profession such as a veteran on the police force.  This type of veteran has usually had a long term of service in their area.  But another meaning of the term “Veteran” is a person who has served in a military force, especially one who has fought in a war: a Vietnam veteran.  This time of year, with Veteran’s Day coming up, this is the veteran we think of the most. 

What Have You Done For Your Country?
Veterans Day was once known as Armistice Day, proclaimed by President Woodrow Wilson in 1919, to remind the Americans of the tragedies of War. In 1939, a law was passed to make it a federal holiday. Later, the name was changed by Congress in 1954, to honor all American veterans of all wars. Veterans Day does honor every American man and woman that has served our country in any armed forces. We celebrate Veteran’s Day the second Tuesday in November. These men and women have committed to keeping us safe and preserving our rights, even to the point of death.  Some of them have lost their lives fulfilling this commitment.   Veteran’s Day should be more than just a day when banks are closed and kids are out of school.  Of course, we don’t really like to think of all the sacrifices that are made for our freedom, we just take it for granted. 

Take it For What it’s Worth
Our freedoms have come with a high price, and you and I are not the ones that have paid the fee.  We are the ones that get the benefits. Freedom is a marvelous gift that has been handed to you and me.  It allows us to do lots of things, most important of all, worship God as we please.  We don’t have to fear being punished or thrown in jail in this country for owning a Bible, reading a Bible, or going to church where in some countries that is a reality.  Someone fought to give you and me that freedom. Some people died to give us that freedom.  Jesus died to give us the ultimate freedom.

Honor Earned
On Veteran’s Day we want to show honor to our country’s veterans. To show true honor is to be willfully and emotionally grateful and individually humbled by their act, gift or person.

• Honor belongs to one who has done more than is expected, gone above and beyond the norm of duty and followed through with sometimes the greatest sacrifice.
• True honor is bestowed upon those who fulfill a high duty or achieve a great task and sacrifice themselves in doing so.

This is the kind of honor we bestow today.  Don’t let Veteran’s Day go by without a thought of why your kids are out of school.  Take a moment this Veteran’s Day to think about the freedoms you have, that maybe you take for granted.  Remember that someone paid some price for you.  Also remember the ultimate sacrifice that Jesus Christ made for all of us to have the ultimate freedom – freedom from our sin. 

Scripture to Claim:

No one has greater love than this, that someone would lay down his life for his friends.
John 15:13