Walk in a Manner Worthy
Sacrifices Made
It’s good to be reminded of how fortunate we are to live in a country where so many have sacrificed so much to guarantee us the freedoms that can so easily be taken for granted. One of my favorite war movies is Saving Private Ryan. The story details the search and rescue mission of a Private James Ryan, one of four brothers serving in Europe during WWII. News came to some higher brass that three of the four brothers had been killed in action and James was the last surviving. This prompted an emergency plan to find James and bring him home so his family didn’t suffer the loss of all its young men. A small group of soldiers, led by Capt. John Miller, are given orders to find and return James safely. The story follows Miller and his men as they fight their way through the French countryside in search of Ryan. Captain Miller’s men struggle with the fact that they are being asked to risk their own lives for the life of one man. When they find Private Ryan, they’ve lost multiple men but Ryan refuses to leave his post and his comrades. With a German tank brigade approaching, Captain Miller tries to convince Pvt. Ryan to evacuate, but in the end the captain sympathizes with Ryan’s reasoning and decides to help Ryan and the others defend the bridge. The Germans arrive, a shootout ensues, resulting in most of Captain Miller’s men being killed, but private Ryan is safe. Captain Miller is also fatally wounded just before reinforcements arrive and turn the tide of the fight.
“Earn This, Earn It”
As Captain Miller sits on the bridge bleeding out, Private Ryan stands before him. Captain Miller‘s last words to him are simple, “EARN THIS, EARN IT.” Wow, what a weight. A burden was just placed upon Ryan’s shoulders with those simple words. Skip forward 40 some odd years and an aged James Ryan stands in Arlington in front of a white cross labeled “Captain John Miller.” Ryan chokes out these haunting words, “Every day I think of what you said to me that day on the bridge. I’ve tried to live my life the best I could. I hope that was enough. I hope that at least in your eyes I’ve earned what all of you have done for me.” He stands there as his wife approaches him. He turns to her and pleads, “Tell me I’ve led a good life, tell me I’m a good man.”
A Righteous Standard
When I was recently reminded of the scene, my mind went immediately to our Savior’s sacrifice on the cross for the sins of the redeemed. In this Easter season, I feel it’s necessary to reflect more than usual on this scene, though this should be a constant reflection of the believer. The God of all time and creation, hanging lifeless on a Roman cross, to make salvation and eternal life available to all. Those who think they can earn this sacrifice are sorely mistaken. No act of man could ever be worthy of the death of Jesus, but in His boundless love for us, He laid down His life so that those who have faith in that act may have eternal life. Though we can’t earn it, we can do as Colossians 1:10 says,
“Walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, to please Him in all respects, bearing fruit in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God.” (ESV)
We have for us, the inspired word of God that lays out principles and commandments of how to walk worthy. We do not need to plead near the end of our lives like Private Ryan did, “Tell me I’ve led a good life.” He had no standard by which to measure what Captain Miller’s version of earning his sacrifice looked like. But God in His great mercy has given us just that. It’s up to us to take those first steps of the worthy walk.
