I have been thinking about how to honor the vets that I know and it is an almost impossible task to express how much we have to be thankful to them for.
I was thinking about who else would give their life for a person like me that they didn't even know. Well you might be headed down the same road I took to follow that thought. Yes, Jesus gave his life to GIVE us emotional, spiritual, personal freedom for eternity. He gave up heaven to live on earth to redeem every generation to come.
Similarly, the veterans give up life in America, for a time, to secure our safety. They offer their lives to ENSURE our national freedom. It just seems like there is so much more to it than that. They also are working to better the lives of people they have never met whether on the homeland or in other countries.
I for one have never heard a military person complain. I have heard about the difficult circumstances and the hardships of real life but not the complaining that we do at my work where in the summer we complain that it is too hot because there is no AC or in the winter we complain because the heater is broken, again. Yet we know we can go home to a nice warm cozy place and cuddle with people and dogs that we love. Hard to complain when you see the pictures of the cots they have had to sleep on or the places where they try to steel a few Zzzs in the middle of some sand field. Or even thinking back to previous war times when they had to hide for hours in the swamps of Viet Nam.
We have NO IDEA what they experienced and for that I am TOTALLY grateful.
I love to travel. I have been around the world a couple of times and every where I go people wish they were American or could live in America. Most people here in Minnesota want to say that foreigners hate America or think that we are obnoxious. They do think we are obnoxious but they still wish they could live here no matter who the president is.
It seems to me that the veterans did for us in the short term what only Jesus Christ can do for us in the long term, eternity. The sacrifice of their home, family, environment, comfort, and for some even their lives have allowed this nation to be one of the best most desirable nations on earth. In the same way everyone wants to go to heaven when they die.
Here is the deal. You know how we are so blessed because we were born here? LOTS of people are trying to get here and they have to work so hard to learn so much about our country that even the native people don't know. Well that is not how it works for heaven.
Yes, everyone wants to go but unlike the American government God does not make sure that you have worked your way down the check list of a VISA, a sponsor, paying all the bribes to get things done, the naturalization process, a green card etc.
God wants you to be a citizen of heaven NOW. That is why Jesus was willing to go to the cross to die for you. He wanted you to have eternal life - FREE.
What you have to do . . . ready for this . . . 1. believe in Jesus 2. Confess that you are a sinner 3. Ask God to take over your life. That's it! No joke.
So you could be an earthly citizen of the greatest nation on earth but you can also be a citizen of heaven. It is not birth related. There are no immigrants in heaven only adopted sons and daughters. However, it is your choice. Would you like to be free, for real????
ATTENTION MILITARY:
For each of you that have devoted any time to the safety of our nation whether only on American soil or not,
THANK YOU!!
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