I don't know their story. I don't know all of the things they accomplished in life. I don't know the circumstances under which they chose to serve in the way they did. I don't know what capacity they served in. I don't know what happened to cause them to be lying in a coffin, wrapped in the beautiful red, white, and blue flag, being offloaded from a plane into the waiting arms of men and women in uniform, standing in reverence as the conveyor slowly brought them together one last time. What I do know is that they served, they died, and it mattered.
As I sat by the window of the Jacksonville airport waiting to board the very plane this hero rode here on, I was distracted by the trivial anxieties of the day. Working through emails on my phone, reading about people being upset or stressed out about this, that, or the other thing. Thinking about relationships that have a little friction in them and a to-do list with more length than importance. I looked out the window and saw two fire trucks spraying water toward each other, creating an arch of blessing and honor over the approaching plane as the hearse, ambulance, security vehicles, and people stood at attention. Still and waiting. Things didn't seem that important anymore.
This is the place in my writing where I would typically drop a clever Bible verse and swing into a lesson. Not today. Today, I'll simply recall the words of Jesus who said:
"There is no greater love than to lay one's life down for their friends." (John 15:13)
I ask myself: Have I lived life in such a way that love will show up when I'm gone? When my final plane ride taxis down the tarmac and pulls into the jetway, will people be standing in reverence or indifference? What did I do today to serve others? Am I laying my life down for my friends or asking them to prop me up?
Yes, life, people, and circumstances can cause the humanity in us to get pretty twisted around things that seem to matter in the moment, or the vacuum we live in. But...have you considered why it matters and asked if it's truly meaningful or just...something else?
Thank you to those of you who serve our country and others every day. You make a difference and set a standard for the rest of us. There is no greater love than one who lays his life down for his friends. Jesus calls you a friend, and the rest of us do too.
