ANZAC Day is just a couple of days away. It’s even easier these days for our family to remember because it happens to be Ben’s (grandson) birthday. He’s been counting down as much as a three-year old can for quite a while now! He thinks it’s been ‘next week’ for a while.
But of course, as a nation ANZAC Day has that particular aspect to it that speaks to us all of almost a coming of age as a nation, as we as a nation joined in with others nations of the British Empire to fight a mutual enemy. As a result at Gallipoli over an eight month period, 8556 Kiwis landed and 7447 were either killed or wounded; an amazing 87%. Of these, 2779 were killed!
Such a waste. Yes, not in comparison to the mind-boggling numbers who died in places like France and Belgium, but still too many, especially for a small country like NZ. War is a waste. It’s a waste of lives that could’ve lived and been amongst their families and society for so much longer, yet sometimes, even as Augustine in the 4th Century AD pointed out, there are times when a ‘just war’ has to be fought. Personally I don’t like the notion of a ‘just war’ any more than any of us, but yet I do understand what Augustine was talking about. Sometimes there is simply no other option.
In this war, like all the others Kiwis have been involved in, young men and women have given their lives on behalf of their country, and in particular, their families and mates. There is no real glory in war, yet we must honour those who have done what they did on our behalf and do so with gratitude.
The truth is, the world is in a mess without God at the centre. Without Jesus Christ being at the centre of every life, human beings will still fight each other over land, greed, power and whatever they can call to mind at the time to justify what they do. Jesus is the hope of the world and is it’s only hope. This is what Jesus died for, that all may know Him and come to an understanding of the Truth, for it is the Truth that sets free, breaks the bondage of the enemy of souls over all those under his influence, and releases us into being the creatures God is calling us to be. Until Jesus returns, I guess we will have to continue with this ridiculous situation of misery that is so often visited on the helpless, the weak and the vulnerable, but there is a hope.
This hope is what we celebrated at Easter. Jesus took our place on the cross, to pay the price of our sin, that we may be set free, and free indeed. So along with John at the end of the Book of Revelation we can join with him and say; “Amen. Even so, come, Lord Jesus!” NKJV