No Greater Love

Somewhere tonight a soldier is standing a watch you'll never know about.

They're tired. They miss home. They'd rather be anywhere else. But they're standing there so you can sleep. Most of us will never thank them by name. Most of us don't even know their name.

Veterans Day is coming. It's a good week to talk about the kind of love that stands the watch.

Greater Love

Jesus said it plainly in John 15:13: "Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one's life for one's friends."

Notice when He said it. Not on a mountaintop. Around a supper table, hours before the cross. He wasn't giving a speech about courage. He was describing what He was about to do.

Every veteran who signed their name & raised their right hand understood a piece of that verse. They wrote a blank check to their country, payable up to & including their life. Some of them paid it in full. Many came home carrying wounds you can't see.

Here I Am, Send Me

In Isaiah 6:8 the prophet hears God ask, "Whom shall I send? And who will go for us?" Isaiah answers, "Here am I. Send me!"

That's the heart of every person who ever volunteered for something hard. Someone has to go. Someone has to stand between danger & the people they love. They raise their hand before they know where they'll be sent.

We should honor that. Not glorify war. Honor the people who said yes when it cost them.

The Soldier Who Died for Enemies

But here's where the gospel goes further than any flag.

Romans 5:8 says, "But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us."

A soldier might die for a friend. Some brave soul might even die for a good stranger. Jesus died for people who were against Him. He laid down His life for His enemies & then called them friends.

That's the greatest love there is. Every act of sacrifice we honor this month is a small echo of it.

Carrying the Weight Home

Some of the veterans in your church are fine. Some aren't. They came home, but part of them stayed over there. They don't talk about it. They sit in the back row & leave early.

The church should be the one place they don't have to explain themselves. You don't need the right words. You just need to show up, sit down & listen.

This Week

Here's my challenge. Find one veteran this week. A neighbor, a coworker, a grandpa, the guy in the back pew. Don't just say "thank you for your service" & walk away. Ask them one question: "Where did you serve?" Then listen. Let them tell it.

If you're a veteran hearing this, know this: you are not forgotten here. Your sacrifice mattered. The One who laid down His life for you sees every scar.

They stood the watch for us. Jesus stood the cross for all of us.

Can I invite you to receive that greater love today & then go give a little of it away?