Veterans Day always brings with it tender and grateful emotions. My dad was a member of the greatest generation, a generation who gave themselves unselfishly and bravely that we might continue to know a special freedom we so often take for granted.
I also think of every time I have visited the Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Washington and search out the name of Freddie Cobb, who was one of my heroes as a child, having played quarterback for VA Tech. He, along with another member of the same church, died in Vietnam.
Holy Scripture reminds us that “Greater Love has no one than this: to lay down one’s life for one’s friends. (John 15:13) Of course, the ultimate sacrifice was Jesus willingly going to the cross to save us in ways we could never do for ourselves. The cross reminds us that never again can we act as if we do not matter—someone died for each of us and we are eternally in debt.
Could it be that we are all veterans in a sense? For we are all fighting battles at times. Keep the model of our veterans in mind—courage, sacrifice, forever give witness to the highest and best in us.
Brave Journey, Bill
