The Gut-Shot G.I.
But sanctify the Lord
God in your hearts:
and be ready always to
give an answer
to every man that
asketh you
a reason of the hope
that is in you
with meekness and
fear.
— 1 Peter 3:15
One of our favorite neighbors is an elderly, but active, old
guy who has been a fixture in our neighborhood for more than 30 years.
He was a World War II veteran, had an outstanding professional
career, served on our local small-town city council, and in retirement is
always out helping others, whether it's pulling a harrow around to smooth our
neighborhood horse arenas, or being the only one in a crowd of spectators brave
enough to lift a huge snapping turtle up off the road to safety.
I saw him last week, and he told me
another one of his stories that always bless me down to my bones. With Memorial
Day upon us, this one really hit home:
It happened over a half-century ago,
at the tail end of World War II. He was a young Army captain in the European
theatre somewhere, and he and his men were under heavy fire. The battle raged
on for many days. It was beyond frightening: it was hellacious.
He was known as a Christian - born and bred a Southern
Baptist, Bible in his pocket always, whole-body immersion, the whole nine
yards. He didn't talk much, and certainly didn't proselytize. But you could
tell, by how he led his men, and the diligent way that he did things, that he
was someone who was a little different, a cut above. In the foxholes, some of
the men turned to him for prayer and guidance.
But not this one G.I. He ridiculed any talk of religious
faith. He put up a hard shield of bravado. He told them he didn't "need" to
believe in God, heaven, the devil, hell, or any of that religious stuff. He
would take his chances on his own.
Well, one night, under heavy enemy fire, the G.I. took some
bullets right in his mid-section. Our friend could see that he was hurt very
badly, and wasn't going to make it.
Their eyes locked. The G.I. said, "I believe."
Our friend rushed to him, and cradled him in his arms. "Do
you believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God, came to Earth to die for your
sins, and offers you eternal life with Him if you simply believe?"
The G.I. whispered, "Yes."
Our friend looked around. Good Baptist that he was, he hoped
to see a stream or a big tub of water so that he could immerse the G.I. and
baptize him properly. But there was nothing around.
Then he thought of his helmet. Of course!
He poured out the water from his canteen into his helmet,
poured it over the G.I.'s head, kept cradling him . . . and a few moments
later, he died in his arms.
That was more than 60 years ago. He still gets tears in his
eyes, and goose-bumps, when he thinks of it.
I got them, too. And I thought about how we are in a war, whether
we like it or not, and whether we know it or not. The fighting seems to be
growing fiercer these days. More and more of us are getting gut-shot every day.
I pray for more people like our friend, ready to serve
others on every battlefront: health crises, marital woes, fractured family
relationships, financial problems, crime, unemployment, loneliness, alcoholism,
drug addiction, and so many others.
I pray for people with the eyes to see when someone has been
hurt, people who will spring into action, cradling them, assuring them of Your
love, guiding them to faith and eternal life. I pray for obedient soldiers in the
Lord's cause to free everyone on Earth from the destruction and rage of the
enemy.
This Memorial Day, we remember our soldiers and all those
who served, in so many battles, on so many fronts.
May we all be ready, like our friend, to offer the helmet of
salvation at a moment's notice . . . ready with the words of saving grace to
baptize anyone who needs it in the Water of Life. †
--------------------
A
really great Christian ministry in inner-city Omaha needs your help.
Compass
Ministries is an after-school program for children and youth,
providing
tutoring, mentoring, meals and Christian love and education
in an
extra-tough neighborhood.
This
summer and for the 2009-10 school year, I've made Compass
the
focus of my new nonprofit, www.AfterSchoolTreats.com
and am
helping sponsor an open house on Flag Day, Sunday, June 14.
An
Eagle Scout has built a beautiful new flag plaza in front of the Compass
building,
and we're going to offer free food, rousing patriotic music, tours,
kids' flag
education activities, and short (VERY short!) speeches by dignitaries.
If you
could give $100 to be a co-sponsor of this positive event
for
North Omaha, we would gratefully list your name in the program
and
apply any extra revenues toward curriculum for the coming school year.
Compass
is doubling its hours of operation to four afternoons a week.
They do
a GREAT job and are very cost-effective.
Read
more about them on www.compassomaha.org
and see
Mini-Grant #1 in the upper right-hand corner of my website,
www.AfterSchoolTreats.com
If you
can help, please send donations of any size to:
Compass Ministries
1723 N. 33rd St.
Omaha, NE 68111-4105
And let
me know via email that you've sent something so I can extra-special thank you.
Happy
Memorial Day,
in the
Name of the One Who keeps us free!
