Thought for the Month - January 2018

"Known unto God" by Barry Adair
(A soldier of the Great War)

The title of this month's Thought has been in my head since Remembrance Day, a few weeks past, as I write. In the meantime I got to read a little of the history surrounding The Great War, World War 1. I haven't got to visit the WW1 war graves or where much of the fighting took place in Northern Europe but one person's views were rather poignant…

Any sentient being who walks the byways of northern Europe, so placid now with their glistening poplar trees and villages clustered around church spires, must occasionally feel the intrusion of the painful thought that beneath the soil lie the corpses of millions, young men sacrificed for the gain of a few meters, and often in Kipling's phrase only known unto God.

The so-called "Great War" effectively started in June 1914 when the Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria was assassinated, along with his wife Sophie. Over the next four years some 17 million people would lose their lives and former empires would be changed forever. Some of these 17 million were never identified and "known unto God" was added to their simple headstone in lieu of the person's name, rank and country of birth.

It got me thinking of exactly how we are known unto God. By the way, the phrase was penned by the writer and poet Rudyard Kipling. He suggested that it be used on the gravestones of unidentified servicemen killed during the war - Kipling's own son John being one of them! A couple of Bible verses immediately jumped into my head and I wanted to mention them here…

Known unto God are all his works from the beginning of the world. (Acts 15:18)

"Greater love has no one than this, that one lay down his life for his friends" (John 15:13)

Those who were killed during WW1 but never identified are of course known unto God. Every aspect of every one of us is known by the God who created us. In fact, there is nothing about us which God is not aware of. Jesus told us that even the hairs on our head are numbered. And in my case in my early 50s, this means a re-count every few days!

"Indeed, the very hairs of your head are all numbered…" (Luke 12:7)

Loved ones, at the time of WW1, would simply have received notification from the War Office that their father or brother or son was "missing in action". The phrase could have meant many things - they may have been killed, wounded or captured. And if deceased, then neither their remains nor grave would have been positively identified.

God would have known all about these "unknown soldiers". He would have known all about the fears and the pain they had experienced. And He would know all about the heartache and tears of the bereaved families on hearing the dreadful news from the War Office.

You keep track of all my sorrows. You have collected all my tears in your bottle. You have recorded each one in your book. (Psalm 56:8)

I also thought about another Soldier of another Great War. This Soldier was the Lord Jesus Christ and this Great War was played out primarily in the supernatural realm. The Bible gives us only a glimpse of the intense supernatural struggle of good versus evil, of angels and demons, of God and the devil…

For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the powers, against the world forces of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places. (Ephesians 6:12)

In this supernatural Great War, Jesus battled the very forces of hell and overcame! At Calvary, Jesus paid the ultimate price by dying in our place on a cruel cross. And He defeated death itself by rising bodily on the third day. Many have laid down their lives for their friends but only Jesus unconditionally laid down His life for the whole world.

"For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life." (John 3:16)

"…but He, having offered one sacrifice for sins for all time, sat down at the right hand of God" (Hebrews 10:12)

Remembrance Day is an important date in the calendar. It is good to remember those who paid their lives for our freedom. But how much more important it is to remember the Lord Jesus Christ, who gave His life that we might gain life eternal!

Abide with me: fast falls the eventide,
The darkness deepens: Lord, with me abide;
When other helpers fail, and comforts flee,
Help of the helpless, O abide with me.

Swift to its close ebbs out life's little day;
Earth's joys grow dim, its glories pass away;
Change and decay in all around I see;
O thou who changest not abide with me.

Hold Thou Thy cross before my closing eyes,
Shine through the gloom and point me to the skies;
Heaven's morning breaks and earth's vain shadows flee;
In life, in death, O Lord abide with me.

"Jesus said to her, 'I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in Me, though he may die, he shall live. And whoever lives and believes in Me shall never die…'" (John 11:25-26)

Until next month (DV)…

Are you SURE that you have your place booked in Heaven? Read this if you're not!