Honoring Our Troops

Memorial Day is a time to remember all the brave men and women who have given so much for us and our country.  Coming from a military family I well understand the sacrifice of which I speak.  I’ve seen it first hand: husbands leaving their wives, fathers leaving their children, friends leaving their buddies, all for parts unknown which is generally alien, often hostile, and where there are few creature comforts.  And these men and women do this because they believe in our way of life and in freedom, and they know these things don’t come cheap.

So this Memorial Day I lift my voice in honor of our troops both here and abroad. They deserve to be remembered and valued and praised.

But I also want to remember another kind of soldier:  all those Christians who down through the corridor of time have fought the good fight of faith, many dying for it, others making incredible sacrifices and enduring unspeakable hardships, well known soldiers like David Livingston who gave up everything to bring the Gospel to Africa, Corrie ten Boom who suffered persecution under the Nazis for hiding Jews, Richard Wurmbrand who spend years imprisoned by the Communists because he wouldn’t renounce his faith, just to mention a few. But there are countless others, unknown Christians who year after year live small, simple lives, enduring the subtle and not-so-subtle persecution of a world that is in enmity with God, nameless Christians who go against the grain and political correctness in order to remain true to their faith. Christians who are buffeted around the world for their faith, slaughtered or burned alive in their homes like Christians in Indonesia have been, or bombed by their own government as the Christians in Sudan have been, or simply denied jobs has many Christians in Muslim countries have been.

So this Memorial Day, as we salute the men and women of our armed forces, let us also remember those other soldiers who fight silently and valiantly the good fight of faith.

Until next week,

Sylvia