A Day to Remember

Today was Memorial Day.  My daughter and I attended the local Memorial Day Parade with my mom, my aunt and a couple of friends.  It was great fun with high school bands, horses, motorcycles, old cars, fire trucks, crazy Shriner cars and lots of veterans.  People passed out small American Flags, candy, and flyers advertising local events.  

As I watched the parade, I thought about my Dad's father.  Papa served during WWII.  He so rarely spoke about it that I didn't even realize he was a veteran until I was almost 20 years old.  Like many servicemen, he viewed what he did as a duty and not as a path to receive glory.  

Luke 17:5-10 And the apostles said to the Lord, “Increase our faith.”  So the Lord said, “If you have faith as a mustard seed, you can say to this mulberry tree, ‘Be pulled up by the roots and be planted in the sea,’ and it would obey you. And which of you, having a servant plowing or tending sheep, will say to him when he has come in from the field, ‘Come at once and sit down to eat’? But will he not rather say to him, ‘Prepare something for my supper, and gird yourself and serve me till I have eaten and drunk, and afterward you will eat and drink’? Does he thank that servant because he did the things that were commanded him? I think not. So likewise you, when you have done all those things which you are commanded, say, ‘We are unprofitable servants. We have done what was our duty to do.’”

This passage is a little confusing to me because Jesus appears to be talking about two different things: faith as a mustard seed and a servant doing their duty.  We each have an assignment from The Lord.  In completing our assignment, we are as a servant doing our duty.  We have done nothing spectacular, but rather we completed a task that God himself gave us the ability to do.  Our reward is not in praise we might receive from others, but in the promise of eternal life - which comes through faith.

I think my Papa had it right when he looked on his military service as a duty, seeking no praise but having faith that all was as it should be.

Thank you to those who served in the U.S.Armed Forces!