A Few Heavy Lifters

Last week Judy and I celebrated the 4^th of July with my son and his family at the United States Military Academy in West Point, New York. It’s a fascinating place, full of history and wonder.

We gathered on the lawn overlooking the Hudson River at Trophy Point, listened to the West Point Band, and watched a great fireworks display.

The two most moving parts of the night were when the new cadets marched in, the class of 2014, and when current or former military stood while their service song played.

As I looked at the young faces of the men and women wanting to serve our country as 2^nd Lieutenants in 2014 so badly that they are willing to endure the hardships of “Beast Barracks” and four years of heavy academics, sacrifice, and hardship, it hit me how rare their devotion is in today’s “me-first” culture.

When I stood with a lot of other soldiers and former soldiers as they played the Army song, it hit me how rare this crowd of 4^th of July celebrants were in today’s “let-others-do-the-hard-stuff” culture.

Today, more than ever before, Americans—Christians included—are letting others do the heavy-lifting of military service, helping the poor, and citizenship duties.

Most Americans could name the contestants of last year’s American Idol contest, but few would know how many soldiers, Marines, and others died last week in the wars we sent them to.

When you ask current or former service members to stand in a typical white-suburban audience, including our evangojive-vote-to-make-America-great-again churches, very few stand.

It’s not a stretch to say that what is true of selfless service and devotion to our country is true of selfless service and devotion to our Lord.

This country’s gone soft, and the church has too.

What if the Lord Jesus held a worship service in heaven and asked all of those who served Him sacrificially by feeding the poor, opening their home, giving their money, going overseas, or rearranging their calendar to stand up?

Would you be one of those standing, or one of those watching and wishing you could?

We gathered on the lawn overlooking the Hudson River at Trophy Point, listened to the West Point Band, and watched a great fireworks display.

The two most moving parts of the night were when the new cadets marched in, the class of 2014 and when current or former military stood when their service song played.

As I looked at the young faces of the men and women wanting to serve our country as 2^nd Lieutenants in 2014 so badly that they are willing to endure the hardships of “Beast Barracks” and four years of heavy academics, sacrifice, and hardship, it hit me how rare their devotion is in today’s “me-first” culture.

As I stood with a lot of other soldiers and former soldiers as they played the Army song, it hit me how rare this crowd of 4^th of July celebrants were in today’s “let-others-do-the-hard-stuff” culture.

Today, more than ever before, Americans—Christians included—are letting others do the heavy-lifting of military service, helping the poor, and citizenship duties.

Most Americans could name the contestants of last year’s American Idol contest, but few would know how many soldiers, Marines, and others died last week in the wars we sent them to

When you ask current or former service members to stand in a typical white-suburban audience, including our evangojive-vote-to-make-Americ-great-again churches, very few stand.

It’s not a stretch to say that what is true of selfless service and devotion to our country is true of selfless service and devotion to our Lord.

This country’s gone soft, and the church has too.

What if the Lord Jesus held a worship service in heaven and asked all of those who served Him sacrificially by feeding the poor, opening their home, giving their money, going overseas, or rearranging their calendar to stand up?

Would you be one of those standing, or one of those watching and wishing you could?