WHAT VICTORY OR PAIN WOULD YOU SHARE?
“Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one’s life for one’s friends.”
(John 15:13 NIV)
Having just recently observed the 4th of July and the significance of that day, I remember hearing amazing stories of Prisoners of War from WW II. Their tedious experiences, frightening ordeals, and their adventurous rescue plans are nothing short of mind-boggling! These days for us it is a matter of food, family and friends. We celebrate those who have gone before us, and others who currently serve our nation and think of the sacrifices they and their loved ones make for the freedom we all enjoy.
Just minutes after President Harry Truman announced the end of World War II, he called his 92-year-old mother in Grandview, MO. She excused herself from her guest and took the call: “Hello!” she said, “Yes, I’m alright. Yes, I’ve been listening to the radio. Now you come and see me if you can… Goodbye.” The elderly lady returned to her guest saying: “That was my son, Harry. Harry’s a wonderful man. I knew he’d call.” We may not all have loving parents to share our successes with at such exciting moments of our life. But we all have a heavenly Father we can call on – any time of day and share our joys or pain. In fact, He is expectantly waiting just as that elderly mother did for that call from her son.
Besides, Paul’s words from his prison cell remind us of our call to duty as children of God: “In light of all this, here’s what I want you to do. While I am locked up here, a prisoner for the Master, I want you to get out there and walk – better yet, run! On the road God called you to travel. I don’t want any of you sitting around on your hands. I don’t want anyone strolling off, down some path that goes nowhere. And mark that you do this with humility and discipline – not in fits and starts, but steadily, pouring yourselves out for each other in acts of love, alert at noticing differences and quick at mending fences. You were called to travel on the same road. And in the same direction, so stay together, both outwardly and inwardly.” (Ephesians 4:1-4 MSG) Today, what’s in your heart you wish to share with your heavenly Father? He’s listening.