A Christmas Message

By the age of five almost every child knows the Christmas story of the baby in the manger. Many people from devout Christians to Agnostics celebrate Christmas with the understanding that December 25th is set aside to hail the birth of Jesus. We know Him to be the saviour of mankind, and for those who earnestly seek an understanding of the Christ Child, we accept the gift that God has freely given as our Saviour with the clear understanding that Christmas Day harkened the arrival of forgiveness of not only our sins but of our sinful nature.

This message is for many the hardest pill to swallow, in light of the fact that the world we know is and always has been in a state of sinful chaos as far back as man has recorded history.

The month of December has seen thus far four more Canadian soldiers killed in Afghanistan as a result of a war started in 2001 when a group of terrorists attacked an internationally occupied structure we knew as the twin towers. For at least 103 Canadian families this Christmas will be a bitter celebration as they look across the table and see an empty plate set for their fallen loved one. Many Canadians see their sacrifice for nothing, with no benefit for Canada as a nation or any individual Canadian. The fact is that no Canadian, politician, soldier or mother wants to see even one soldier die in action for no just cause. For many including myself, 2011 cannot come any sooner. We will breathe a sigh of relief the day our troops withdraw from that war torn country.

But are Canadian soldiers dying for nothing? Jesus’ birth was foreseen by the Hebrew’s 800 years before Jesus was born. In Isaiah 9:6 we read “For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given; and the government shall be upon his shoulder; and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.”

The middle east has always been in some form of conflict. Their history shows that oppression has always held the peace loving people of the east in either terror or fatal conflict. Almost every army has had a piece of the region. Interesting how Isaiah, a Hebrew prophet would describe the messiah as a “Prince of Peace,” a phrase we today use in describing Jesus. The fact is that as far back as history records, the people in the middle east looked for a saviour from death, oppression, occupation and war They are still looking today.

But Jesus did not grow up to be the war General many wanted him to be. Over thirty years later, when Jesus rode into Jerusalem on the back of a burro, people once again hailed Him as the Messiah expecting Him to raise a powerful army and drive the Romans out of the region and take the seat power from the corrupt King Harod. But instead, Christ taught peace, tolerance and salvation.

The same people that hailed Him as the messiah one day, turned on Him the next and called for his blood. His arrest, torture and execution is a matter of history. At that time His followers did not fully understand why he died. To many, his death was senseless and all for nothing. People did not see the direct benefit of Christ’s death on the cross for their nation, their family or themselves.

That was just the point. Christ died for what appeared to many to be a worthless cause. He died for people that did not know Him. He died for a war that was started by others. He died for actions that were so unforgivable that no man, king or army could turn the other cheek. He died for the shame that each person heaps on their soul. A shame that eats away at the very fabric of man and changes people in ways that hurt others. He died so that this life here on earth has true meaning. He died to save and give people hope.

For those 103 Canadian soldiers who fought and died and to those who will die, they do so for people that do not know them They do that for people they owe nothing to. They died to free those people who carry shame, who live in despair, who turn against them in actions that are truly unforgivable by man. They died to save and give those people hope.

This Christmas when we remember the birth of our Saviour Jesus, we remember that the baby wrapped in swaddling would one day die for the sinful actions of others. He frees the burdens for those would seek an understanding of Him and see who He really is. To sacrifice is not only brave but demonstrates love beyond simple understanding. This Christmas set out an empty plate for a soldier who through the love for mankind has died so others can live.

Will You Die For Me?

You’ve seen it in motion pictures, the dramatic scene, arm stretched out as one lover asks the other, “Will you die for me?” Your hand is probing the popcorn and at that moment you hear a whimper to your right. You then notice that the gal who came to the theatre with you is sobbing, but nary a tear rolls down yours. It’s just a movie, no loss.

Have you ever walked up to a perfect stranger and looked them straight in the eye and say, “Will you die for me?” Or better yet, say to someone you don’t know, “I will die for you.” What you may get is a very strange look and depending on the situation, a visit from a white shirt. But then again, those are only words, and as the old maxim is “Actions are stronger than words.”
This whole preamble sounds absurd at best, but that is exactly what every citizen of Canada asks each soldier sent into a war zone. In the World Wars the threat was pretty clear. World War II saw a Nazi Germany threaten the entire world with policies that would have seen people without white skin, blonde hair and blue eyes either enslaved or killed at the hands of those following a murderous leader. That war saw over 14 million allied troops die to prevent the German, Italian and Japanese forces from fulfilling a final solution on our soil.

Those who lived and breathed in Canada between 1938 and 1945 not only asked the soldiers to die for them but also conscripted those same soldiers into service. Many hugged their loved ones for the last time, stepped on a train never to be seen alive again.

But before that soldier died for you and I, they endured a terrifying existence and by all definitions acted with resolve and fearless determination. The old saying that there are no atheists found in the trenches has special meaning to the solder being shot at, and knowing that the true enemy is encroaching on his position. Death is near, and as that same soldier jumps from his position of virtual safety, those same words are pumping through is heart, “I will die for you.”

The soldiers today fighting in Afghanistan know all to well that the call to duty is not a frivolous one. The threat from terrorism that ignited that war 8 years ago is a clear and present danger. No other time in history has the enemy walked on North American soil and orchestrated the deaths of our citizens. Canadians as well as Americans died at the handy work of those people whose goal is to thrust a final solution on our soil. The Canadian soldiers who have died fighting in Afghanistan knew all too well that the bullets flying overhead were from an enemy who is encroaching on his position. Our Canadian soldier jumps from his position of safety with that same mission statement of “I will die for you.”

The word sacrifice gets thrown about in many ways in our society today. Like many words, the true etymology of the word is lost on a generation where they consider the mundane with lofty expressions like awesome, fantabulous, and bodacious. Sacrifice has been lowered to mean the loss of ones time. It has been taken to a level where it is more of a word expressing numerical value instead of surrendering a life for the sake of others.

With every sacrificial death in battle, the family laid their son before the Alter of Society of which the ripple effect prevents the birth of grandsons and granddaughters whose contributions to society can never be measured. This is the true nature of sacrifice. November 11th is just one day we set aside for the remembrance of those lost in battle and those who served unselfishly to secure the leisure, free life we so much enjoy. The sacrifice was not only those who fought for freedom but is also the sacrifice of the soldier’s family, for those are the people who truly feel the cost of sacrifice.

Today with the world in constant conflict and Canada stepping from the gallery onto the stage, let us not just put one day aside to think of our soldiers present and past. It’s time we started to show our veterans and current serving military that we truly respect, care and love them. It is time that we should all understand that when a soldier steps onto the battlefield that soldier looks us all in the eyes and says, “I will die for you!”