Duty Binds Them—

Arlington Cemetery

 No 
Greater 
Love

Greater love hath no man than this,

that he lay down his life for his friends.

John 15:13

We celebrate our heroes—those who have fallen in blood-drenched ditches of every war since the American Revolution and those we are losing almost daily in Afghanistan. A mother’s son, a father’s daughter. Our heroes are committed to our watch care whether here at home or on foreign soil. And they are just as committed to protecting each other while they’re all in harm’s way. Duty binds them to one another. Not only duty, but love of country, love of their brothers and sisters in arms. Such love, such strong and enduring love!

You may say, “How can there be any greater love than this?” This is powerful, to say the least. But when we consider the love of our Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ, everything else pales in significance. As a former military man of war myself, U.S. Navy Retired, although I may not have known to the greatest extent, in moments of loneliness and fear, Jesus carried me, He comforted me, He protected me. Yea though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me, thy rod and thy staff they comfort me.

Dr. Charles Weigel wrote the beautiful song of the faith, “No One Ever Cared for Me Like Jesus,” at a time in his life when the world as he knew it was shutting down around him, a time when his wife left and took their only child, headed for the bright lights of the big city, and all while Dr. Weigel was trying his best to serve the Lord in the ministry. This song says it all, for surely no one has ever cared for us like our Savior.

He is our Soldier—the one who fights our battles; the one who stays the hand of the enemy, Satan; the one who comforts us when we’re far from home. And He’s the one who brings victory over death when back home a loved one receives the telegram, the phone call, the visit from a military dignitary.

Christ shed His blood for our sins, and He forgives on the battlefield just as He does in the sanctuary. He is omniscient and omnipresent, so we don’t have to worry whether He is in Afghanistan or Iraq or Viet Nam or Korea or Europe or any other foreign country. He is the God of all creation. Why, He made us, He loved us enough to die for us, and when we trust Him, He sets us free. He conquered death, hell and the grave and rose triumphant over sin and Satan—for us. He gives us hope in this life, and the Apostle Paul said in I Corinthians 15:19: “If in this life only we have hope in Christ, we are of all men (and women, of course) most miserable.” Now, it doesn’t get any better than that.

Christ, the greatest Soldier, the one who fights our battles moment by moment, has not only given us new life here on earth as we trust Him, but a promise of heaven. With God as our Great Commander in Chief, the Lord Jesus as the Captain of our soul, the Holy Spirit as our Sustainer and Comforter and Guide—what have we to lose. Certainly there is no battle too great for Him, and when we come to the end of our way, He has promised “absent from the body is present with the Lord” (II Corinthians 5:8).

We pause to thank God for our military men and women. Those in the Army, Marines, Navy, Air Force and Coast Guard. They serve us well, and our prayers go up for them for many reasons. We pray that they will experience the Touch of the Commander’s Hand, the Power of the Comforter, and the Love of the Captain of their soul—and that this day, they may find peace in the only one who can bring it—the Prince of Peace. 

In loving service,

Victor W. Baugh, Sr., Th.D., Ph.D.

Pastor, St. Luke AME Church

Havana, Alabama