"Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends." (John 15:13)
We are a blessed nation, a favored people, benefactors of liberty and freedom granted to us by the endeavoring service and selfless sacrifice of the patriots who have gone before us. I stand here this morning free because brave men and women stood where I have not gone.
I have not donned the warrior’s uniform or laced the boots of the military but because a soldier has, I am clothed with the garments of liberty and stand on the shores of opportunity.
I have not lifted the sword, fired the musket, or shot the artillery but because a soldier has, I am girded with freedom and blessed with their gallantry.
I have not crossed the bloody battle field or stormed the beaches of tragedy but because a soldier has, I have crossed the fruited plans, and seen the purple mountains majesty.
I have not heard the thunder of war or seen the bombs exploding in air but because a soldier has, I have heard the bells of freedom ring and seen the glory of the setting sun.
I have not heard the clash of arms or seen the battered or the torn but because a soldier has, I have heard the song of the whippoorwill and the cry of the new born.
I have not spent a night in a fox hole, crept in muddy trenches, or sought refuge behind tattered sandbags but because a soldier has, I have slept under the stars of America, ran along her rivers, and stood tall in her fields of clover.
I have not smelled the bitter odor of war or the foul stench of death but because a soldier has, I have smelled the scented blossoms in the spring and the fresh morning air has been my breath.
I have not faced a bitter enemy, or experienced his treacherous attack but because a soldier has, I have felt the love of family and the tender embrace of a wedded lover.
I have not felt the sting of powder in my eyes or the blunt force of shrapnel embedded in my body but because a soldier has, I have felt the rain on my face and the softness of the autumn leaves all around me.
I have not held a dying soldier, sobbed with a wounded brother, or carried a fallen G.I. but because a soldier has, I seen the birth of my children, I have laughed with their mother, and I have been carried by the benevolence of another.
I have not swayed in the bowels of a ship, been shook in the cockpit of a plane, or been jostled in the interior of a tank but because a soldier has, I have laid my head in the fresh cut hay, relaxed in the evening breeze, and curled up next to the one I love.
I have not been captured by the enemy, tortured by an adversary or imprisoned without being guilty but because a soldier has, I have been loved and cherished. I have enjoyed the companionship of friends, the loyalty of my family.
I have not bleed on foreign soil, suffered loss in the air or the sea. I have not given the ultimate sacrifice but because a soldier has, I will stand with the brave and defend the land of the free.
I have not been stained with blood, or covered with an American flag. A white solitary cross is not poised over my head. Nor do the tears of a mother or the sobs of a widow wet the ground over where I am laid but because a soldier has, I am an American, the old rugged cross is my emblem, and the red, white, and blue stands for my freedom.
And I have not felt the jagged strands of the soldier’s whip or been humiliated with his bitter scorn. I have not experienced his angry blows or the injury of the crown of thorns, but because the Saviour has, I have felt the hands of mercy and been delivered from sin’s raging storm.
I have not been pierced in my hands and in my feet or have I been hung on a wooden cross wounded and beat. I have not been a guiltless lamb made vile, wicked and sin, lead to the slaughter and then forsaken; but because the Saviour has, I am washed in His blood, covered by His grace and wondrously born again.
I have not been pierced in my side, wrapped in grave clothes or laid in a tomb; but because the Saviour has, I am promised everlasting life, new garments, and in His mansion a room.
I have not returned from the clutches of the grave, conquered the sting of death and or paid the wages of sin but because the Saviour has, I am promised a glorious body, no more tears, and to be like Him.
I have not gone where they have gone or given what they have given but because a soldier and the Savior has, I have received no greater love and I am forgiven.
