n e w c h u r c h l i f e : j u ly / au g u s t 2 0 1 5
Jonathan was Saul’s son, and
David’s best friend. The stories of their
friendship and camaraderie are unique
in the Bible, so when Jonathan dies it
is more than just the mourning of a
leader who has passed. We read the
raw emotion of somebody who has
lost a friend whom he literally went
through wars with.
When he says there should be
no joy in Gath or Ashkelon, that’s
because those are Philistine cities. He
is commanding his enemies to not
celebrate the death of his friend, and then he curses Mt. Gilboa, where they
died, after which a period of mourning commenced.
In a similar way we have an annual period of mourning to thank the Lord
that these good soldiers lived, lest we forget their contributions and lessons
learned from war. It is good and right to honor those who have died in service
for our country. Love of country is of paramount importance. Our country
is our homeland, which nurtures and protects us, and in the next life love
of country is transferred into a greater love – a love for the Lord’s heavenly
kingdom.
Real love for the Lord’s kingdom is really love for all people. It is noble and
brave to die for one’s country because it is an expression of love to the neighbor
and a grand gesture of protecting the innocent. What we are honoring,
however, when we remember a person who has died in this way, is the person’s
willingness to do so for the sake of others. We are not honoring the fact that he
died. We are not honoring war. We are honoring the person’s spirit of service,
duty and self-sacrifice for the sake of others.
However, all of us who truly serve the Lord and love the neighbor are
sacrificing something of our ego-selves for the sake of others. In regeneration
we are giving up our lives for our friends. When a person acts with kindness,
especially when it is inconvenient to do so, there is a bit of laying off the life of
self-service that comes so naturally to us all. When a person struggles to give
up something within that is wrong, and self-gratifying because the Lord has
said it is wrong, there is a laying down of one’s life for the Lord Himself. Giving
up something because the Lord says it is wrong is a laying down of one’s life
for the Lord.
In Matthew, the Lord says: “He who finds his life will lose it, and he who
loses his life for My sake will find it.” (Matthew 10:39) This gives us something
to think about: losing our life for the Lord’s sake, and laying down our life
We are not honoring
the fact that he died. We
are not honoring war.
We are honoring the
person’s spirit of service,
duty and self-sacrifice
for the sake of others.
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