Words of Duty

by Rebecca Irwin

Last night, in a conversation, my friend adequately summed up my sentiments about the Veteran's Day service I attended by declaring "You're right, Beck, today duty is a bad word." I had the privilege of taking my little boy Scout, Max, in his Tiger Cub uniform to a Veteran's Day service with his Great Grandma, Ruth Schmitt, on November 11, 2008. Ruth, or Gigi as we call her, lives in Leisure World. Residing there in Southern California, is one of the greatest concentration of Veterans in the United States. I was deeply moved as the gentlemen stood in turn to the theme of their military branch. I wanted to seize the moment and snap a thousand photos, know their names and sit with them to hear their stories. I left with a deep sense that the sands of time are sifting through the hourglass and soon, we will not have the chance to learn from this great generation.

The speaker that morning was Colonel Jane M. Anderholt. She stated five things the Army has in common today with the veterans that came before them : 1. I am an American Soldier 2. The mission comes first 3. I will not accept defeat 4. I will never give up 5. I will never leave a fallen comrade. Then she quoted the scripture John 15:13 "Greater love has no one than this, that someone lay down his life for his friends.". It immediately struck me that there were parallels between this list and our call as Christians. These truths could be my personal manifesto.

Please understand, I do not wish to militarize the Word. Nor do I wish to merge church and state. I am not holding nationalism in equality with spirituality. I simply want to share with you the impact it had on me to have a creed, a motto, a set of values, a sense of duty one holds to. Perhaps in a sort of rebel response, going against the unpopularity of duty outside the walls of Leisure World and the Army barracks, I felt it would be very valuable to formulate such a thing for myself. In fact, as I type this I believe it would be a valuable thing to teach my boys as well. This is how I personalized the call to duty :

1. I am a Christian soldier. 2 Timothy 2:3 "Share in suffering as a good soldier of Christ Jesus".
2. God's mission comes first. Matthew 28:19-20 "Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age". and Matthew 22:37-40 "You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the great and first commandment. And a second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. On these two commandments depend all the Law and the Prophets".
3. I will not be defeated. 1 John 4:4 "Little children, you are from God and have overcome them, for he who is in you is greater than he who is in the world."
4. I will never give up. Galatians 6:9 "And let us not grow weary of doing good, for in due season we will reap, if we do not give up."
5. I will never leave a brother in trouble. 1 John 4:21 "And this commandment we have from him: whoever loves God must also love his brother." 2 Corinthians 13:11 "Finally, brothers, rejoice. Aim for restoration, comfort one another,agree with one another, live in peace; and the God of love and peace will be with you."

King of the Angel armies, King of all Kings, Ruler of all nations, and my Lord, please help me to realize a sense of duty as a disciple of Jesus. Please let me serve you with honor, bringing glory to your name. Do not let me be lukewarm, or casual about my commitment to Christ. Help me to learn from generations before me who have kept the faith. Amen