War by nature has been and always will be controversial. It would be terrible to think that any rational human being would find war agreeable. It is to be avoided. The following scripture is sound advice:
I Timothy 2:1, 2
“I exhort therefore, that, first of all, supplications, prayers, intercessions, and giving of thanks, be made for all men; For kings, and for all that are in authority; that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and honesty.”
The advice given here is unfortunately not always heeded. When systems break down due to the organized evil in this world, the inevitable result very often is war. In consideration of times like these and of the men and women who are challenged by them, I offer the following token of thankfulness on this Remembrance Day.
The Cost of Freedom
The hills of distant towns can little count the cost
Of strangers who passed in years gone by
Of unknown faces that lie beneath, of generations lost
To youths whose nations sent with shield and gun
On stormy seas, in turbulent skies, on forbidden soil
Clutching images of wife, brother, mother or son
Of the countless faces who saw comrades fall
Caressed their limp forms amidst rubble mounds
In dirty ditch, frozen trench, on grassy knoll
O Unknown soldiers, of today and bygone day
May you accept an oft forgotten gratitude
For your work of valor to preserve liberty’s way
And may those who say freedom needs no fight
Consider your spilled blood, your youth lost
As they slip into their peaceful beds at night
And to those who serve still, ready to defend
A noble heritage, a labor of lives past
I pray our God His mercy and grace to you send
And may your nation, your legacy never lose
How you paid with life the cost of freedom
In a manner and time you could not choose
May God bless the men and women of our Armed Forces on this Remembrance Day.