HEROES . . .
I met a hero today. He was sitting in a wheelchair outside the Walmart exit selling those little paper poppies. And I gladly took one. Some of the war heroes in recent years have taken a lot of abuse from those who understandably hate war. We all hate war. Especially veterans.
Some wars are wars of self-defence, while others are of aggression or nation-building. And some just to sell arms. And though opinions abound about the justness of their cause, they would be beside the point. Any person going into harm's way to protect his country, family or friends is a hero. We see heroes in movies laying down their lives for their friends, giving themselves in sacrifice for others, sometimes at the cost of their own lives. Omaha beach was the code name for one of five sectors the Allied forces invaded on June 6, 1944 on the coast of Normandy, France toward the end of WWII. It was a harrowing, bloody landing where at
least 2000 men died and 1000 were wounded. The movie "Saving Private Ryan" began with a fictionalization account of this event and is certainly one of the most accurate portrayals of the D-Day event. But there is one hero who overshadows them all, who will one day be honored by all of mankind.
This hero was custom engineered to destroy the greatest enemy that mankind has ever faced.
Over the course of thousands of years the enemy had heard rumors of the "one" who was coming to extract the hostages he held, the rumor at first broad and general but becoming more defined with the passage of time. The initial intelligience described him as a man, the "seed of a woman", and later as a descendent of an Amorite from Ur, the Chaldean city of Mesopotamia name Abram. Further intel corroborated that this figure would descend from the eldest of 12 sons the Amorite would produce, Judah, and that there was indeed a plot to install Him as King. The rumor revived with the rule of King David and the promise that he would be the father of this "one". The enemy responded with the scatter-gun approach of sending troops to destroy the capital city, temple, and carrying away its leaders. The resistence responded by having their planted ruler send the captives back, with instructions to rebuild the temple and city, and laying the groundwork for the asset's arrival.
He was injected into the Israeli territory of Bet Lehem in roughly 4 B.C. as the best qualified, most intelligent and highly-trained individual possible. The invasion plan, at least 4000 years in the making, left nothing to chance - the intelligence, impeccable. The enemy had launched several brutal attempts to neutralize the asset by the simple genocide of his people. It was to no avail. He made beachhead disguised first as a baby, and then a growing Jewish boy. At one point the enemy heard of the child's existence and slaughtered hundreds of children in a frantic attempt to crush the plot, but the child - again through superior intelligence- escaped. Implementing the plan, He boldly dropped his cover in 30 A.D., and sought the allegiance of the masses, with most success among the common people. In a boldly counterintuitive move he attracted followers by doing good, by displaying mercy and truth. However, the enemy had already infiltrated the ruling class who increasingly opposed him. This antagonism was stretched to the breaking point when he entered the capital city with his 12 officers who hailed him as the rightful King. The fury that ensued was expected. But the fury of the enemy proved to be their undoing. Quickly a mock trial was called sentencing The Asset to death. This was a fatal strategic error. In an unforgettable display of courage he meekly and bravely submitted to their cruelty and was tortured for His country, all the while insuring the escape, and the ability of his 12 officers to complete their mission successfully.
In the most brilliant strategy in human history, the anticipated hatred of his enemies ensured that they themselves would complete the mission . . to die as the universal sin offering and open the door to eternal life for all who would believe.
This is the greatest hero. There have been many others, souls who have given themselves for friends, or more, for strangers, sometimes unto death. But here is the greatest of all, for He single-handedly destroyed the greatest villain of all . . death. He subsequently raised himself from the dead and appeared to his officers and others who were overjoyed that he had overcome Death, the enemy, for them, and that the gate to eternal life was open to all who would believe . .
I saw a Hero today, and I honored him, and the One he reminded me of . . Jesus, my King.
“Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends”
John 15:13
