For a cause greater than us!

One of the great privileges in my travels has been to visit the US armed forces cemeteries: Arlington, France, Hawaii, Manila and others. It is not easy to comprehend the names upon the wall, or the perfect rows of silent white crosses and the Stars of David. It is a visual and mute testimony to men and women who gave their lives for a cause greater than themselves. I think of the families who gave their sons and daughters to the cause of freedom. Conversations in these sacred places takes place in whispers as we acknowledge the hallowed ground as such.

Whenever I walk the rows of the fallen I think of another group who has no cemetery, whose numbers equal those fallen in war and who also gave their lives for a cause greater than themselves: The men and women through the ages who gave their lives for the Gospel of Jesus.  Their honor is yet to come but it was their sacrifice that continues to fuel the growth of the church. Just as soldiers went into harms way for the cause of freedom so these went to hard places knowing the possible cost.

There are causes in life that are greater than our individual lives. We are recipients of those who understood that and were willing to pay the price. We are indebted to them. Let us never forget.