A Veteran's Day Memorial
by Ronald E. George Jr. at the Sand Fork Baptist Church
Introduction: How Much is One Man's Life Worth?"
Saving Private Ryan By Charles W. Colson
"The film is "Saving Private Ryan", and what makes it so good is its brutally honest treatment of profound moral questions--questions that lead us to consider the infinite debt of gratitude each of us owes for his very life, a concept that is stunningly consistent with a Christian worldview.
The film opens with a harrowingly realistic reenactment of the D-Day invasion of Normandy. We see the action through the eyes of Capt. John Miller, played by Tom Hanks. Following D-Day, Hanks learns that he is to lead a search party to find a certain Private Ryan, whose three brothers have just been killed in action. The last living son is to be sent home to his grieving mother.
But no sooner do Miller and his party begin their search for Ryan behind German lines than a startling Pandora's box of moral questions is opened: Why are all these men risking their lives to save one man? Don't they have mothers, too? Are they just pawns in some cynical PR maneuver by the Pentagon?
As first one, and then another of the soldiers in the rescue party is killed, the questioning intensifies. After all, just how much is one man's life worth?The answer comes in a stunning scene at the end of the film. It's now 50 years later and Private Ryan is visiting the graves of the men who saved him, who literally gave their lives for his. "I lived my life the best I could," he says to their gravestones. "I hope in your eyes I've earned what you've done for me."
But we can see that he has gnawing doubts. Obviously distraught, Ryan turns to his wife: "Tell me I've led a good life," he implores. "Tell me I'm a good man." "You are," she answers him.
But the answers are not convincing. And how could they be? Behind Ryan's question is the inescapable reality that however good you are and however much you've accomplished in your life, you can never, ever repay such a debt. It's a stunning moment, because we, too, think of our debt to the 18-year-old kids who jumped off those landing boats into a hail of bullets.
How do we repay a debt like that? We have to admit with humility that we cannot: We can only express our gratitude. In fact, columnist George Will has called the film "a summons to gratitude" for the generation that died so we might live.
The parallel to the Gospel here is powerful. God Himself gave His Son's life, that we might live. How does one repay Him for such a gift? Spielberg may not have intended to raise the parallel, but when you portray reality as effectively as he has, the Gospel isn't hard to find.
So, when your friends start talking about "Saving Private Ryan", bring that final scene to their attention. And ask them that question: "Just how much is one man's life worth?" Tell them an answer: "It's worth the Son of God sacrificed on the cross for us." by Chuck Colson.
Scripture Text:
Psalm 145:1-5, 17-21 I will extol you, my God and King, and bless your name forever and ever.2 Every day I will bless you, and praise your name forever and ever. 3 Great is the LORD, and greatly to be praised; his greatness is unsearchable. 4 One generation shall laud your works to another, and shall declare your mighty acts. 5 On the glorious splendor of your majesty, and on your wondrous works, I will meditate. 17 The LORD is just in all his ways, and kind in all his doings. 18 The LORD is near to all who call on him, to all who call on him in truth. 19 He fulfills the desire of all who fear him; he also hears their cry, and saves them. 20 The LORD watches over all who love him, but all the wicked he will destroy. 21 My mouth will speak the praise of the LORD, and all flesh will bless his holy name forever and ever.
Key verse: 5 On the glorious splendor of your majesty, and on your wondrous works, I will meditate
How much are you worth?
1. You are the greatest of the acts of creation from the Genesis.
4 One generation shall laud your works to another, and shall declare your mighty acts. 5 On the glorious splendor of your majesty, and on your wondrous works, I will meditate.
He is our God and creator. Made from the red clay of the earth he fashioned us in his image and made us a little lower than the angels. Praise the Lord for who he is. He is the only living God. His Greatness is unsearchable. He is the creator who has made us in his own image. So, one generation shall laud your works to another and declare your might acts.
Now let me tell you what some dust did some time back. The man's name is Paul Partridge. He lives in suburban Chicago. In a land mine in Vietnam in 1966, he lost both legs. He lived across the street from a woman who screamed one day at the top of her voice: "My baby! My baby!" Sensing there was something seriously wrong, this veteran and his wife left their house -- he in his wheelchair, his wife running. After 60 bumpy yards, the wheelchair stopped. He dragged himself out of that wheelchair . . . and pulled himself 60 feet up steps to the deck around the swimming pool. There was a little girl. Her mother had pulled her from the pool where she had found her apparently dead. Her little heart stopped. Partridge gave the child CPR and talked aloud to her. "Little girl, you're going to live. You're going to make it. I know you're going to make it." Suddenly the child started breathing, and he screamed for medics to be called. That's the nobility the Lord has planted in all this dust. That's why he has made us just a little lower than the angels, with the potential to risk our lives for other people - as this hero did for his country, and who with great anguish and agony dragged himself 60 feet up steps to save that little girl.
2. You are worth so much that the Lord listens to you, he is near to you, and he is kind and just in all his doings to you. Praise the Lord for what he does. Praise the Lord for where he is. He is close by. 17 The LORD is just in all his ways, and kind in all his doings. 18 The LORD is near to all who call on him, to all who call on him in truth. He is just in all his ways and kind in all his doings. How much are you worth? To all those who call on him in truth he is willing to come near to be with you to listen to you.
Have you ever tried to talk to some one who was famous? Have you ever tried to get in touch with someone who was well known? Do you know anyone who is more important than the Lord? He is always able and willing to come near to you to listen to your prayer. Have you called on him?
How do you really know how much something is worth? How much are you willing to pay for it? How about beanie babies? How much would you pay for one? How much would you pay for a rookie baseball card of Mark McGuire? How much are you worth to God? How much was/is he willing to pay for you?
3. You are worth so much that God is willing to save you by paying the highest price he could pay for you. He gave his one and only Son. Praise the Lord for how he loves. 19 He fulfills the desire of all who fear him; he also hears their cry, and saves them. 20 The LORD watches over all who love him, but all the wicked he will destroy. 21 My mouth will speak the praise of the LORD, and all flesh will bless his holy name forever and ever.
How much would you be willing to give for another person?
Roma 5:7 Very rarely will anyone die for a righteous man, though for a good man someone might possibly dare to die. 8 But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.
All who fear him, reverence him, cry unto him, call unto him, call unto him in truth, bless his holy name, and love him will he answer with his loving kindness. Why? Because you were created by and for him. He died for you. Will you?
Feast of Saints & Martyrs of England
It frequently happens that the value of a thing lies in
the fact that someone has possessed it. A very ordinary thing
acquires a new value, if it has been possessed by some famous
person. In any museum we will find quite ordinary things --
clothes, a walking-stick, a pen, pieces of furniture – which
are only of value because they were possessed and used by some
great person. It is the ownership, which gives them worth. It is
so with the Christian. The Christian may be a very ordinary
person, but he acquires a new value and dignity and greatness
because he belongs to God. The greatness of the Christian lies in
the fact that he is God's.
... William Barkley, The Letters of James and Peter