{"id":8930,"date":"2023-05-29T14:00:37","date_gmt":"2023-05-29T21:00:37","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/thefount.church\/church\/?p=8930"},"modified":"2023-05-29T12:28:44","modified_gmt":"2023-05-29T19:28:44","slug":"chuck-colson-on-memorial-day-the-fount-account","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/thefount.church\/church\/2023\/05\/29\/chuck-colson-on-memorial-day-the-fount-account\/","title":{"rendered":"Chuck Colson on Memorial Day – The Fount Account"},"content":{"rendered":"

I subscribe to Breakpoint of the Colson Center. Every day, Breakpoint provides commentary that helps me be a better Christian and a better citizen of the United States. I recommend it highly. Click on the link below to subscribe.<\/p>\n

Some years ago, Chuck Colson wrote the following on Memorial Day, and I share it with you on this important day.<\/p>\n

<\/em>Peace,
\n<\/p>\n

This Memorial Day, reflect with me on how we should respond to the enormous sacrifices of our men and women in uniform.
\n
\nMemorial Day is when we honor the men and women of our armed services who have made \u201cthe supreme sacrifice,\u201d who gave their lives for their country.\u00a0<\/span>
\n
\nEspecially these days, when Memorial Day seems nothing more than a time for cookouts and swim parties, we cannot be reminded often enough about how great a debt we owe our war dead.\u00a0<\/span>
\n
\nThey gave up their hopes and dreams, families, and friends. They submitted themselves to rigorous discipline\u2014something I understand as a former Marine\u201424-hour-a-day duty\u2014and placed their lives in great peril. \u201cGreater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends.\u201d\u00a0<\/span>
\n
\nTheir sacrifice should inspire in us a profound sense of gratitude. Gratitude for the freedoms we enjoy, bought with a price. And that gratitude should compel us to lives of service as well. Serving Christ, our neighbor, and yes, our nation.\u00a0<\/span>
\n
\nI can\u2019t help but recall the brilliant film\u00a0<\/span>Saving Private Ryan.<\/span>\u00a0James Ryan, now in his seventies, has returned with his family to the military cemetery in Normandy. He visits the grave of Capt. John Miller, the man who, a half a century before, led the mission to retrieve\u2014to save\u2014Pvt. Ryan. At the end of the mission, Miller was fatally wounded. As he lay dying, his final words to Pvt. Ryan were \u201cJames. Earn this \u2026 earn it.\u201d\u00a0<\/span>
\n
\nWe then see Ryan kneeling at Capt. Miller\u2019s grave, marked by a cross. Ryan, his voice trembling with emotion, says,\u00a0<\/span>
\n
\n\u201cEvery day I think about what you said to me that day on the bridge. I tried to live my life the best that I could. I hope that was enough. I hope that, at least in your eyes, I\u2019ve earned what all of you have done for me. \u201c<\/span>
\n
\nRed-eyed, Ryan turns to his wife and says, \u201cTell me I\u2019ve led a good life \u2026 tell me I am a good man.\u201d\u00a0<\/span>
\n
\nWith great dignity, she says, \u201cYou are.\u201d\u00a0<\/span>
\n
\nWith that, James Ryan salutes the grave of Capt. Miller.\u00a0<\/span>
\n
\nI tell this story in greater detail in my book\u00a0<\/span>The Good Life<\/span><\/a>, which you can purchase at\u00a0colsoncenter.org<\/a><\/span>.
\n
\nYou see, Pvt. Ryan, out of gratitude for Capt. Miller\u2019s sacrifice, did all in his power to live a good life.\u00a0<\/span>
\n
\nAnd Memorial Day is a great time for each of us to look into the mirror \u2026 to examine our own lives. Are we living good lives in gratitude for all those who have sacrificed for us\u2014including our men and women in the military, our families, our friends, and most of all Christ?\u00a0<\/span>
\n
\nAre we, like Ryan, kneeling before the cross? Spielberg, a master cinematographer, had to realize the power of this imagery. Are we, out of gratitude, doing our duty for Christ, feeding the hungry, clothing the naked, ministering to those in prison, in whatever harvest field to which the Lord has called us?\u00a0<\/span>
\n
\nExamine your life.\u00a0<\/span>
\n
\nAnd this Memorial Day, at the very least, thank those who have sacrificed for you and those you know who have served our country in the armed forces. Maybe you\u2019ll do what I do when you see a guy or gal in uniform \u2026 at the airport, at the store, wherever \u2026 walk up to them and thank them for their service.\u00a0<\/span>
\n
\nAnd then go and remember Whom it is you serve.<\/span>
\n
\nFor more resources to live like a Christian in this cultural moment, go to\u00a0<\/span>breakpoint.org.<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

I subscribe to Breakpoint of the Colson Center. Every day, Breakpoint provides commentary that helps me be a better Christian and a better citizen of the United States. I recommend it highly. Click on the link below to subscribe. Some years ago, Chuck Colson wrote the following on Memorial Day, and I share it with […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":10,"featured_media":8002,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[299,59,254,411,354],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-8930","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-all-ages","category-church-news","category-discipleship","category-memorial-day","category-the-fount-account"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/thefount.church\/church\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8930","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/thefount.church\/church\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/thefount.church\/church\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thefount.church\/church\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/10"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thefount.church\/church\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=8930"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/thefount.church\/church\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8930\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":8931,"href":"https:\/\/thefount.church\/church\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8930\/revisions\/8931"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thefount.church\/church\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/8002"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/thefount.church\/church\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=8930"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thefount.church\/church\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=8930"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thefount.church\/church\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=8930"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}