Inspired by. . . lone survivor

Inspired by. . . lone survivor

I didn't want to see this movie. In fact, I admit, I was scared to see it. I knew good men were going to suffer and die. From the vast research I've done on the Navy SEALS, I knew this movie would be intense - -emotionally charged. Despite the title, I knew this movie did not have a "happy" ending.  Not my kind of movie.

This movie was everything I knew it would be – and more.

There are few people I respect more than those who serve in our military. And the Navy SEALS have earned a right to top that list.

 

 

We think we understand the courage, the sacrifice that these men make.  See the movie. Unless we've BEEN THERE, DONE THAT – then we understand NOTHING. What these men are made of is incomprehensible to most of us. But we don't have to understand it to honor it.

To honor them.

And we should honor them. The men and women who have died, sacrificed, and lived defending this country should be honored above all else. Not only with our hearts, but with every resource this country has available.

It's been weeks since I saw the movie. It's become clear that this is one that is going to stay with me for awhile.

On many levels. For many reasons.

There are a couple of lines in the film that kept me awake that first night. I'm paraphrasing, but basically this is how it goes:

"See, God's taking care of us." Luttrell's character says as his gun materializes out of nowhere.

His buddy responds, "If this is God taking care of us, I'd hate to see Him pissed off."

I struggled with his response. Not because it's wrong, or because I don't understand it. But because it's honest, and I do understand it.

God's omnipotence. Man's free will. Tell me again how that works?

These are difficult concepts to understand and accept.

I think I've already established what I think about these men and what they did. So hopefully you can read the rest of this post with an open mind, and an open heart.

Not one thing those men did that day made a difference in where they're spending their eternity.

Does that bother you? It bothers me, but it is the truth.

"All our righteous deeds are like a filthy garment." Isaiah 64:6

There is only one thing that makes what we do in this life matter for eternity, and that is where we stand with the man, Jesus Christ. Our relationship with Him is the key ingredient that makes our deeds bear fruit.

That doesn't mean that what those men did that day doesn't matter. And this is what, for me, makes it all bearable.

Everything we do matters. The smallest act has significance. God redeems and works for good every act of humankind, even those done with evil motivation.

"As for you, you meant evil against me, but God meant it for good in order to bring about this present result, to preserve many people alive." Gen 50:20

Joseph's story in Genesis is just one of many examples in God's word of this truth.

I think it is the depth of respect that I have for these courageous men that makes it so hard for me to see them as sinful men in need of redemption. Or maybe it's because when I allow myself to see the flaws in the greatest of us, it forces me to admit my own.

As tragic as what happened to these men is, an even bigger tragedy is spending eternity apart from God. I hate the thought that that could be true for any one of them. For any one of us.

Like I said, I'm a happy ending kinda girl - -  And the ending has already been written.

 

“Death is swallowed up in victory. O death, where is your victory? O death, where is your sting?”

The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law; but thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ."

 

Today if you hear God's voice, do not harden your heart.

 

Blessings,

 

 

 

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