Some Gave All
Memorial Day 2024
John 15:13 NKJV
[13] Greater love has no one than this, than to lay down one’s life for his friends.
There is not a higher calling than this.
To lay your life on the line so another will keep theirs. The amount of courage it takes is rare.
The bravery to sacrifice all is unmatched.
The amount of love it takes is a reflection of the amount of love that another heart has received.
There is a famous quote,
All gave some, some gave all.
This quote is accredited to a man by the name of Howard William Osterkamp.
Mr. Osterkamp served in the Army from 1951-1953. He served as a Staff Sergeant during the Korean War and received a Purple Heart.
This quote sums up the whole essence of what Memorial Day is!
Men and women that essentially have given up their own being for the Freedom we so cherish.
The U.S. Army was established in 1775. This was a whole year before the Declaration of Independence was signed.
Since then, well over 200 years, more than 1.1 million dedicated U.S. soldiers have been killed in all the wars and conflicts the United States has been involved in.
From the start of the Revolutionary War to the wars and battles our Great Nation faces today, American men and women have answered the great call to serve and serve greatly!
It is said that since the Vietnam War less than 1% of the American population serves in the military today.
Our whole way of living depends on a fraction of dedicated, brave and courageous hearts to defend the luxury we call FREEDOM!
One of these Freedoms, the greatest in my opinion, is the ability to worship the Lord and Savior Jesus Christ openly.
President Franklin D. Roosevelt made this statement;
“Those who have long enjoyed such privileges as we enjoy forget in time that men and women have died to win them.”
It’s easy to forget that at a moments notice these soldiers can be called and be deployed to all corners of the world to defend our freedoms and to help allies during that time.
Fear, doubt and worry I’m sure has to run through their minds.
But they are trained, skilled and ready to serve as they have all promised.
‘Greater love has no one than this, than to lay down one’s life for his friends.’
There have been many that have given their lives not just for the sake of Freedom but for the sake of a fellow soldier.
As many that sacrificed their own being, they made it possible for another brother or sister in arms to come home.
I know for a fact that has repercussions on those that did make it home.
It is called Survivors Guilt.
Some survivors feel guilty that they survived battle when others didn’t.
Others believe they could have done more to save the lives of others.
And then there are those who feel guilty that another person paid the ultimate price to save them.
I know this because my own dad has lived with this since his service to his God and country during the Vietnam War.
(I ask for forgiveness from him in advance for this story I’m about to share. Others need to hear this story too)
He told a story not too many years ago to us. A story we had never heard from his lips.
A story that had been locked in his heart.
There are many stories he opened up to us about God’s saving grace on his life. How the Lord literally sent angels to protect him from sniper shots. Or how giving up his mosquito net and giving it to a local mother for her and her babies so they wouldn’t get malaria. Since then my dad has never been bit by a mosquito.
But a new story emerged.
My dad had received his papers to come home. A feeling of relief, happiness but also a feeling of leaving some behind.
He later found out that the platoon he was in got sent back into battle. All perished fighting the good fight for your freedom you have today.
We can never understand the Fathers heart completely. We never know why one is saved and the one next to you isn’t.
He came to me after service one day. And asked the question I didn’t want to answer.
Why.
It’s easy to say it’s God’s plan.
But it is God’s plan for these fallen warriors and His plan to the ones that survived.
But the guilt can still lag and attach to the heart and soul.
We sat down in my office.
I explained to him that I myself wouldn’t be here. His grandchildren wouldn’t exist. My siblings and their children.
The service he continued as a firefighter as a career never would have transpired. Working for FEMA. Working in ROCO Urban Search and Rescue.
He may not have been able to go back to his unit at that time to fight alongside his brothers in arms but through God’s grace, he was allowed to survive as a continuation of that battle and the freedom they believed in.
Never take it for granted.
Through their sacrifice we continue in the freedom they fought for in commemorative fashion that ‘ all gave some but some gave all’.
Their lives weren’t spared but the Freedom they so believed in prevailed because of their giving of life.
‘Greater love has no one than this, than to lay down one’s life for his friends.’
Because of that Greater Love my dad was able to serve thousands and thousands of people throughout his life, and continues to do so. Praise God! All because of those that gave all!
If there is any love left in your heart I ask that this be the day you bow your head, get on your knees and praise the Lord Jesus Christ for all those that served and gave all so you CAN bow your head and get on your knees.
Thank Him for their courage and bravery.
Thank Him for their selfless acts of Valor.
Pray for their families for comfort and healing.
Without these men and women where would we even be!
As we start to grow in our faith in Christ this self sacrifice starts to to grow and cultivate in our lives. We start to believe in the Holy Scriptures of what it means to serve.
We start to serve not just Jesus but His Kingdom and His people.
Our pride starts to deteriorate. Our humility increases. We start to understand that our life is not our own.
When the promise of Heaven is believed and longed for it becomes a characteristic of our very lives, serving and self sacrificing.
“Courage is almost a contradiction in terms. It means a strong desire to live taking the form of readiness to die.” – G.K. Chesterton
Oh if we could live our lives everyday like they did. If we could see the Goodness of Jesus in all of this.
How One Man would take all of the sin of the world. He would take the beating. He would take the nails and the Cross.
All in the name of Freedom!
He would not back down until the payment for Freedom was paid in full. He paid for it with His blood and His life. Jesus took the Wrath of God that we deserved so that we could have Freedom from sin and death!
Enjoy and worship our Lord in the Freedom we have in this country. Never neglect or forget what sacrifices were made in order for us to do so.
All gave some, some gave all.
Greater love has no one than this, than to lay down one’s life for his friends.
Pastor Ed
