This year’s Veterans Day observance was yesterday and as I write this, I am thankful. I am thankful for all the men and women who have served and are currently serving our nation in our Armed Forces. I deeply appreciate their choice to serve and protect others as well as their sacrifices in pursuit of that goal.

I am also thankful to live in a nation that honors the sacrifice of those who have served and protected us and who are currently doing so. It is good that we recognize that service every year.

It would be remiss of me not to mention that I myself am a veteran. I am currently a Chaplain in the Air Force Reserves, which is why I disappear from time to time, serving our Airmen in Las Vegas. However, I don’t want this devotional to be about me, or even about our veterans, as worthy of recognition as they are.

Instead, I want us to turn our attention to the one Man who is the prime example, the archetype of selfless service and sacrifice, our Lord and Savior Jesus. It was He who sacrificed more than we can comprehend or truly appreciate. He left the perfection of heaven and was born not as a king or a prince, but as a little baby to poor parents in a tiny country town called Bethlehem. He gave up His immortality for a mortal frame. He also sacrificed His perfect relationships with the Father and Holy Spirit for our messy, sinful human relationships.

And more than that, He is so much greater than we are. He came as God and Man, divinity in flesh, and He lived a life without sin, something we couldn’t do. As the writer of Hebrews wrote:

For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses,
but one who in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sin.
Hebrews 4:15

Jesus spent years on earth ministering to sinful people just like us. He was their Good Shepherd (and ours too – John 10:11-18). He healed their sicknesses, cast out demons, and forgave their sins (Mark 1:32-34, Matthew 9:2-8). Jesus is so loving that when He went with His disciples to a desolate place to rest, seeing a crowd there He had compassion on them. He taught them the whole day and provided food through a miracle (Mark 6:30-44). Ultimately, Jesus gave up His very life on our behalf as the apostle Paul tells us:

But God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.

Romans 5:8

It is very good that we are blessed to read and experience Christ’s love and sacrifice for us. We can truly agree with Jesus’ words in John 15:

This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you.
Greater love has no one than this, that someone lay down his life for his friends.
John 15:12-13

Jesus is the ultimate example of service, sacrifice, and love on our behalf. In the same way we have honored those who serve and sacrifice for our nation, let us in gratitude honor Christ Who is our sacrifice and our servant. Praise Him for His loving kindness and pray that He will express that loving kindness in answered prayers for those on our prayer list and all those we love.

God’s Love and Comfort be with you all,
Noah