Nothing Wasted

When I think of the gratitude that we owe our Men and Women in the armed services, I think first of the decision that each of them had to make in order to be willing to lay down their life for the sake of our freedom as a Nation. 

One of the first images that comes to mind is this… 

This is a picture of American troops taken on June 6, 1944 as young men faced the jaws of death in a landing craft vehicle approaching a beach at Normandy in France.

Just before the allied troops left the shores of England for their journey across the English Channel, our then President, Dwight Eisenhower spoke these words for their hearing. He said:

“You are about to embark upon the Great Crusade, toward which we have striven these many months. The eyes of the world are upon you. The hope and prayers of liberty-loving people everywhere march with you. Your task will not be an easy one. Your enemy is well trained, well equipped and battle-hardened. He will fight savagely. But this is the year 1944! The tide has turned! The free men of the world are marching together to victory! I have full confidence in your courage, devotion to duty and skill in battle. We will accept nothing less than full victory! Good luck! And let us all beseech the blessing of Almighty God upon this great and noble undertaking.”

We can only imagine the thoughts that must have been going through the minds of these young men as they looked ahead and saw the men from the Landing Crafts ahead of them being slaughtered by enemy artillery. 

As patriotic American we celebrate and identify with the brave men and women of our Armed Forces, and the sacrifices they have made and are making. We celebrate because they’ve given us something costly, our continuing freedom as Americans. But sometimes we forget that because they represent us we are actually participating with them and standing with them and their cause of freedom, which is our cause of freedom. 

If you are an American – this picture above is a picture of YOU in the landing craft approaching death at Normandy. And it’s a picture of me. This is a picture of us participating in the fight for freedom. FACING DEATH, IF NEED BE, BECAUSE FREEDOM IS WORTH DYING FOR.

Here’s another picture of our Troops on D DAY, just after the gate was lowered on their landing craft and they are wading through the water to the beach to accept the fire of heavy artillery in their fight for our freedom. This picture was actually entitled, “Into The Jaws of Death” when it hit the newspapers of America.

And I’ve thought about this: Just as our freedom as a Nation was preserved by these brave men who suffered and died many years ago, our freedom from sin was preserved by Christ 2000 years ago when he suffered and died and then defeated death as our Savior for all eternity, for all who believe. 

As Christ-following Americans, who have been set free from sin, we participated in the D Day invasion by proxy, and we likewise participate in the death and resurrection of Christ by PROXY because Jesus suffered and died on the Cross for us. 

So, just as we see here a picture of Jesus suffering for us, this in fact is me and this is you, if we believe in Him. We identify with Him because of what He has done for us. In 1 Peter 4:13, we read that we should actually rejoice as we participate in the suffering of Christ. Look at this passage:

“But rejoice inasmuch as you participate in the sufferings of Christ, so that you may be overjoyed when his glory is revealed.”

Four Questions come to my mind from this verse:

1.       What are the sufferings of Christ that we participate in?

2.       How do we participate in these sufferings?

3.       Why do we rejoice in the suffering of Christ?

4.       When is His glory revealed

• First - What are the Sufferings of Christ that we participate in?

We KNOW that Christ endured the ultimate physical suffering when he died a savage death on the cross, but scripture is clear that when we stand for Him in this life it will be costly. God’s Word tells us that we should count the cost when we come to Him. And when the cost is levied against us we shouldn’t be surprised.

Just prior to verse 13 in this 4^thchapter of Peter we read these words in verse 12:

“Dear friends, do not be surprised at the fiery ordeal that has come on you to test you, as though something strange were happening to you.”

And then listen to these words from Jesus himself that we find in John 15. He Says:

“If the world hates you, keep in mind that it hated me first. If you belonged to the world, it would love you as its own. As it is, you do not belong to the world, but I have chosen you out of the world. That is why the world hates you. They will treat you this way because of my name, for they do not know the one who sent me.As it is, they have seen, and yet they have hated both me and my Father. But this is to fulfill what is written in their Law: ‘They hated me without reason.’”

• Second – HOW do we participate in the suffering of Christ?

As we see from the passage above, every time we stand for Him we participate in His Suffering. Just as He suffered and died for us, when we live for Him, we participate in His suffering. We participate when we clearly identify the things in the world that breaks the heart of God, and then take a stand against those things. And what breaks the heart of God? Anything that puts mankind in a position which proclaims “I don’t need God...I can live just fine without Him… His Word and His way is inconsequential to me.” 

What breaks the heart of God? An attitude that reveals “what I want is most important”.  And we are blind to truth because of our own desire to be in control.

What breaks the heart of God? When we treat anyone with a disrespect that becomes bitter and divisive, causing us to lose sight of the fact that God loves all of humanity without condition and He wants us to be instruments of His love and not of His judgment. 

• Thirdly, Why do we rejoice in the sufferings of Christ?

Why? The same reason that we rejoice now in the invasion of D DAY on June 6, 1944. We rejoice in that day of horrible war and suffering because we won the war. And that invasion, as bloody and as horrible as it was, took us to the final outcome of the war which was victory over the Axis of Evil represented by the Nations that stood against the Allied Forces. 

Today,  on this side of the Cross of Jesus, we rejoice in the suffering of Christ because we KNOW what He has accomplished in taking away our sin and clearing the way for our fully restored relationship to our Heavenly Father. Today, we rejoice in the suffering of Christ because we have read the end of His Book, the Bible, and we know that the ultimate axis of evil will be defeated, and it’s just a matter of time before that happens and Christ returns again to claim His people.

• And finally – When is His Glory revealed? 

·           Every time we take a stand for Christ and His Kingdom, His Glory is revealed.

·           Every time we love someone like He loves them, His Glory is revealed.

·           Every time we comfort someone who is living in brokenness, His glory is revealed.

·           Every time we have compassion for that homeless person on the street corner, His glory is revealed.

·           Every time we share the Gospel, His glory is revealed.

·           Every time we Fellowship with each other through the love that Christ gives us, His glory is revealed.

·           Every time we open the Living Word of God and make application of His Word in our lives, His glory is revealed.

·           Every time we WORSHIP Him in spirit and in truth, not seeking what we want, but what He wants, His Glory is revealed. 

AND AS HIS GLORY IS REVEALED, WE SHOULD REJOICE - BE OVERJOYED (IN OTHER WORDS - HAVE HEARTS FILLED WITH UNLIMITED JOY) …WHY - BECAUSE THIS IS THE FULFILLMENT OF THE HEARTCRY OF JESUS WHEN HE PRAYED. 

“FATHER – YOUR KINGDOM COME AND YOUR WILL BE DONE, ON EARTH AS IT IS IN HEAVEN” …    AND THERE IS NOTHING WASTEDIN HIS SUFFERING OR OUR SUFFERING WITH HIM BECAUSE THE GLORY OF GOD IS BEING REVEALED