Forever Faithful!

Well-known missionary to China, J. Hudson Taylor once said: "A little thing is a little thing, but faithfulness in a little thing is a great thing." (Robert J. Morgan, Nelson's Complete Book of Stories, Illustrations, & Quotes, Thomas Nelson Publishers, Nashville, 293)

The same publication noted this: "One of the most tragic events during the Reagan presidency was the Sunday morning terrorist bombing of the Marine barracks in Beirut, in which hundreds of Americans were killed or wounded as they slept. Many of us can still recall the terrible scenes as the dazed survivors worked to dig out their trapped brothers from beneath the rubble.

"A few days later an extraordinary event took place. Marine Corps Commandant Paul Kelly visited some of the wounded survivors then in a Frankfurt, Germany hospital. Among them was Corporal Jeffrey Lee Nashton, severely wounded in the incident. Nashton had so many tubes running in and out of his body that it was said he looked more like a machine than a man, yet he survived.

"As Kelly neared him, Nashton, struggling to move and racked with pain, motioned for a piece of paper and a pen. He wrote a brief note and passed it back to the Commandant. On the slip of paper were but two words—"Semper Fi"—the Latin motto of the Marines meaning "forever faithful." With those two simple words Nashton spoke for the millions of Americans who have sacrificed body and limb and their lives for their country—those who have remained faithful." (Ibid)

In John 15:12 Jesus told His disciples, "This is My commandment, that you love one another, just as I have loved you." And in verse 13 he added, "Greater love has no one than this, that one lay down his life for his friends." How much did Jesus love us? He loved us enough to lay down His life for us on the cross. He was faithful to those He loved, paying the penalty of sin on our behalf so that we would not suffer eternal death, or eternal separation from God. He died to set us free!

That is what independence Day is about—freedom. We celebrate our nation's independence and freeom that was sercured by faithfful people who laid down their lives for their friends. Brave and faithful soldiers died to set us free, much like Jesus did to secure our ultimate freedom from sin.

A faithful friend never fails to do whatever may be required to help the people he loves, just as Jesus did, even when that means giving his very life. That is the faithfulness that has defined not only the Marines, but service men and women in all branches of the U.S. Armed Forces throughout the history of this great nation.

In a very moving letter, Abraham Lincoln expressed the respect and consolation of a nation and his own compassion to Mrs. Bixby, who lost five sons in combat during the Civil War. Mr. Lincoln's letter expressed the compassion that he felt with the honor due the fallen soldiers: "Dear Madam: I have been shown in the files….that you are the mother of five sons who have died gloriously on the field of battle. I feel how weak and fruitless must be any words of mine which should attempt to beguile you from the grief of a loss so overwhelming. But I cannot refrain from tendering to you the consolation that may be found in the thanks of the Republic they died to save. I pray that our heavenly Father may assuage the anguish of your bereavement, and leave you only the cherished memory of the loved and lost, and the solemn pride that must be yours to have laid so costly a sacrifice upon the altar of freedom. A. Lincoln" (usmemorialday.com)

Being "Forever Faithful" begins with being faithful to love God. Again John 15:12 says, "This is My commandment, that you love one another, just as I have loved you." That last phrase, "just as I have loved you" is the key. It is God who first love us. Our love for each other is a reflection of His love for us and flows from our love for God. 1 John 4:19 says, "We love, because He first loved us." God loved us so much that He sent His Son to die for us. That great gift, the gift of His Son, leads us to love God in return and to put Him first in all things. So being "Forever Faithful" means being faithful to love God above all else.

In Matthew 22:37-38, quoting Deuteronomy 6:5, Jesus said, "You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind. This is the great and foremost commandment." Before we can truly love anyone else we must first love God with our whole being (our heart, our soul, and our mind!). And if you love God with all you are, your life will show it, first by living rightly before Him, then by attending church and worshiping with fellow believers, and also by loving one another. And that brings us to a second way of being faithful.

Being "Forever Faithful" also involves loving one another. Look again at John 15:12-13. "This is My commandment, that you love one another, just as I have loved you. Greater love has no one than this, that one lay down his life for his friends." When you are faithful to love God, you will be faithful to love your brothers in Christ. The two always go hand in hand. That is why, when Jesus gave us the greatest commandment, to love God above all else, He immediately added, "The second is like it, 'You shall love your neighbor as yourself' (quoting Leviticus 19:18).

In fact, John 13:34-35 says the same thing: "A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another, even as I have loved you, that you also love one another. By this all men will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another." Your love for one another proves your love for God. And did you catch the standard? "Even as I have loved you," or as our text in John 15:12 said, "Just as I have loved you." Be faithful to love one another, just as Jesus loved you.

Jesus died for you, to set you free. So you should be willing to do anything for your brothers in Christ, even to die for them if necessary. We can’t die for their sin. Jesus has already done that for us. But we can give all we have to take care of them and to protect them. And that is what so many of our service men and women did for us. They gave the ultimate sacrifice for our good will, for our freedom to worship, and for our freedom to gather together and celebrate. Remember and be thankful for the love of your brothers. Follow their example. Be faithful to love God and be faithful to love one another. Amen.