Freedom And Honour

Galatians 5:1 – It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery. (NIV)

All day I'd been working on a Remembrance Day story for our local paper. Carefully I scanned the picture of my great uncle in uniform and noted how much he looked like my grandfather. I examined a yellowed picture of a single cross marking his grave in Mesopotamia, now Iraq. He had served in the British Armed Services during the First World War. Each letter, each souvenir, saved for nearly ninety years by my great aunt Lila who died this year at the age of 103, served as a reminder of how the life of a young man was taken, a tragedy and a consequence of war.

Before putting the pictures back in their folder, I stopped to examine the words on a medal sent to him by the British government: "Wilfred Shepherd — He died for freedom and honour."

The inscription caused me to stop and reflect on another young man who gave his life for the people he loved. His life on earth was ended: a tragedy and a consequence of our sin. He, Jesus Christ, instead of having a cross to mark his death, died while hanging on a cross. Jesus Christ — He died for our freedom and our honour.

Prayer: Dear God, as we pause to remember the great sacrifices made on our behalf, help us not to forget the price of our freedom: the young men and women who have laid down their life for the freedom we enjoy in our country and the death of Jesus who died on the cross to bring us freedom from sin. Amen.