Month: May 2023

Memorial Day 23

Today I attended the Memorial Day ceremony at the Sicily-Rome American Cemetery. There are over 7000 American service personnel buried there, and the names of more than 3000 missing are engraved on the walls of the memorial. The service members were lost in operations in Sicily, Salerno, Anzio and Nettuno mostly between July 1943 – May 1944. They are the men and women who left their homeland and never returned.

It was a peaceful place, arcs of headstones laid out under umbrella pines. Two large flags fluttered at half-mast – one Italian and one American. My son commented, “That flag is almost as big as the one at Fort McHenry.”

Maybe it was the flags. Maybe I’m getting old.  But when the US Navy band began to play “The Star Spangled Banner,” I started to cry. 

“The Star Spangled Banner” was written by Francis Scott Key during the War of 1812 while the battle of Baltimore waged before him. The air was so smoke-filled from cannon fire, it was only the sight of the flag streaming over Fort McHenry and the continued fighting that reassured Key that the American forces had not given way. 

Versions of this scene have played out before millions of men and women and even children. Every war is loud, chaotic, and confusing. It’s important to stop and ask how it’s going from time to time. 

So today let me ask you – how’s the battle for your heart going? Do you feel as though you’re under a constant barrage? Are you wondering how it’s all going to turn out?

I have good news for you. There is no back and forth in the Kingdom of God. If you’ve joined the Lord’s side, your heart is territory that cannot change hands. No one will capture it against your will. No one will snatch it from His hand (John 10:28).

“What king would go to war against another king without first sitting down with his counselors to discuss whether his army of 10,000 could defeat the 20,000 soldiers marching against him?”
Luke 14:31

God is no fool. He will win every battle no matter the odds because He is undefeatable (Isaiah 14:27). The outcome is never in jeopardy. So as you take stock, also take comfort – the battle goes on precisely because you belong to the Lord. His banner of love still waves over you.

For the Dogs

I’ve had one of those messy mornings. I offer these thoughts from it with a warning – if you have a sensitive stomach, you might want to skip the first part. Vomit is involved. 

Some workmen were coming so I put my dog in the laundry room to keep him out from under their feet. About two minutes later they asked for a broom, so I went to the laundry room, only to find the dog had vomited and was enjoying his breakfast the second time around. So gross. I cleaned up the mess and took him to sit with me outside, where he threw up again about 20 minutes later. This time was messier and even he didn’t want anything to do with it. It might have been funny if it hadn’t been so awful. 

Dogs eat some pretty disgusting things. Our previous dog loved to eat dirty tissues. She did it in secret, but it always came to light from the other end. It obviously wasn’t good for her and often caused gastric distress, but she kept doing it. 

I joke that dogs have small brains (at least mine do). I’m sure there’s some survival instinct wired into them that makes these seem like good choices, but the part that gets me is that no matter how often I scold them, or even the physical suffering they experience, they keep doing the same thing again and again.

I hate to say it, but we’re like this sometimes. We think our sin is delicious. We consume as much as we can because we don’t see it for what it really is – dirty kleenex. We keep eating what made us sick in the first place. We might try to keep it a secret, but the truth always comes to light and the outcome is never good.

“As a dog returns to its vomit, so a fool returns to his folly.” Proverbs 26:11

Probably dogs don’t really have a say in the matter. They’re creatures of instinct doing what their instincts tell them to do. Biology classifies us as animals too, but we know that we’re meant to be more than just animals acting on impulse alone. We’re meant to think, to consider, to choose. Sin removes our humanity and makes us more like creatures than children. It clouds our minds and darkens our understanding (Ephesians 4:17-19). It taints our choices and enslaves us (John 8:34); eventually we lose the ability to discern or choose what’s really best for us.

We may start off this way, but we don’t have to stay this way. Christ can set us free from the dominion of sin (Romans 6:17-18). He can restore our humanity (Romans 8:12-14). He can renew our desires (Ezekiel 36:26). The choice is ours. 

“To all who believed him and accepted him, he gave the right to become children of God. They are reborn!” John 1:12-13