Do We Derserve Their Sacrifice?

I am sure many people remember the movie “Saving Private Ryan”. Set at the time of the D-Day landings in Normandy in 1944, it is a graphic portrayal of the violence and horror of war. The story follows Captain John Miller and his men as they search for a young soldier, Private James Ryan. Ryan’s three brothers have been killed in action and the army chiefs want Ryan found and returned safely to his family who have already suffered loss beyond belief.

Many of Miller’s men are killed in the search for Ryan and in helping Ryan’s platoon to stop the German Army from capturing a vital bridge. After fierce fighting, the German soldiers have been defeated and Captain Miller himself lies dying on the bridge.

In a poignant scene Miller beckons Ryan to come to him. With his last breath Miller whispers: "James... earn this. Earn it." As Miller dies, the movie brings us back to the present and to a much older James Ryan standing over Miller’s grave in a military cemetery in France. As he stands there, Ryan asks his wife to reassure him that he has lived a good life. Has the life he has led been good enough to repay the debt he owes Miller and his squad for their enormous sacrifice?

In a little over a month from now we will celebrate Anzac Day. On that special day we will remember, honour, thank and pray for those who fought to defend our nation and the many who made the ultimate sacrifice. As Christians, however, we are called to make a bigger commitment than a single day of remembrance. We best honour and thank our Service men and women by living lives that strive to earn the sacrifice they made. We need to love, respect and care for one another every day. We need to live lives that are positive, uplifting and enriching to all those with whom we come into contact. We need to strive to achieve our full potential and to be the very best people that we can be, not just when we feel like it but all the time. When we live our lives in this way we honour all those who have made sacrifices for us. When we live in this way, the sacrifices that others have made on our behalf are never in vain.

I remember watching a story on the ABC TV program Stateline that dealt with three young men who took on the arduous trek along the grueling Kokoda Trail. The men in their late teens spoke of their journey as a life changing experience. One of the men, Stephen, explained how extremely difficult it had been for him both physically and emotionally to walk this trail that his grandfather had fought on in WWII. He said he could not imagine how the young soldiers had even carried their heavy packs, weapons and equipment over the dense terrain, let alone how they had fought fierce battles as they went along. His thoughts at the end of his ordeal were profound.
He asked the question: “Do we deserve their sacrifice?” He went on to say: “Our generation must live in a way to make their sacrifice worthwhile. Our generation must live in a way that would make them proud.”

Let us pray that we can all live in such a way.