Day of Days
It was 63 years ago today that Allied forces lead a massive attack on the German stronghold in Normandy France. For some years now I always make sure to take time on this day to remember the men involved in this invasion on both sides, living and deceased. I have already told you that I have a soft spot in my heart for our combat veterans and this war, this attack, always seem to stick out in my mind the most. I think that must be because I was so affected by movies such as Saving Private Ryan and Band of Brothers and have spent a good amount of time looking into the history of them, especially from the soldier’s perspective – I am a sucker for war stories. It was an incredible invasion the likes of which we have not seen in recent history.
After such a devastating world wide military conflict, it is disappointing – to say the least – that we have not found a way to solve major conflicts without going to war. But our Lord tells us this will happen:
You will hear of wars and reports of wars; see that you are not alarmed, for these things must happen, but it will not yet be the end. Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom; there will be famines and earthquakes from place to place. All these are the beginning of the labor pains. (Mt. 24:6-8)
So why does this happen? Why do such seemingly unresolvable conflicts continue to arise, leading us into war? After thinking much about it, it appears to me the answer is sin. Sin is a moral evil which separates us from God and therefore from true and lasting peace. Fallen by nature, man is subject to temptation and sin. As sins continue, conflicts increase and war, because of our nature, is inevitable. But, as the Lord says, we should not be alarmed for:
Immediately after the tribulation of those days, the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light, and the stars will fall from the sky, and the powers of the heavens will be shaken. And then the sign of the Son of Man will appear in heaven, and all the tribes of the earth will mourn, and they will see the Son of Man coming upon the clouds of heaven with power and great glory. And he will send out his angels with a trumpet blast, and they will gather his elect from the four winds, from one end of the heavens to the other. (Mt. 24:29-31)
Until that day we pray and work for peace, for the conversion of sinners. We pray for those who have seen war, for those who have died in war and those who are in the midst of war today. And we hope for the coming of the Lord.
That’s what I think anyway.
Amen, I say to you, this generation will not pass away until all these things have taken place. Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will not pass away. “But of that day and hour no one knows, neither the angels of heaven, nor the Son, but the Father alone. For as it was in the days of Noah, so it will be at the coming of the Son of Man. (Mt.24:34-37)