This morning, I stood at the Iowa Falls Veteran’s Memorial under a brilliant blue sky and surprisingly warm November sun. It was the right place to be on this Veteran’s Day. It was where my uncles would want me to be. I owe them so very much.
My uncles are heroes. Five of their names are inscribed upon the WWII Memorial wall. Uncles Wayne, Oswald and Ronald have died. But, Uncles Victor and Kenneth still live to remind me of a great sacrifice. One that I’ll never be able to repay by anything other than my promise to live on as a grateful and involved citizen.
The debt I owe my uncles is surely difficult to comprehend. But, I know this for certain. We are a safer people who can worship, work, live out dreams, raise families, and build a future because of the price paid by Americans soldiers — in the past or present.
When the members of our local American Legion fired their rifles in tribute, many things came to mind. My grandsons aren’t old enough to understand what patriotism really is, but I want to be able to tell them. America isn’t a perfect a country, but she is a free country thanks to immeasurable human sacrifice. That human sacrifice even allows those of liberal, global, and non-Christian persuasion to voice their opinions, practice their vocations, and choose their lifestyle. Sometimes, when I’m on a road trip and cross state lines, I’m physically reminded of the freedom I have to come and go as I please.
My uncles and all the others who willingly step forward in battle against evil do so because they are compelled to protect women and children. They are compelled to stand against fascism, socialism, communism, and terrorism. They are compelled to protect the freedoms of American citizens who go about their daily tasks on the home front. What is this compelling force? What instinctively beckons them to defend home and family? I believe it is the Creator of human life, God Himself, who calls and equips men to fight the battle for life. That battle may be against an enemy on foreign soil, but it may also be against the evils of everyday life on domestic soil.
Men of faithfulness are needed on all battlefronts. Just as they are needed to fight against evil ideas of men like Hitler and Hussein, they are also needed to fight closer to home against ideas, policies, and choices that threaten marriage, home, and children.
We may say my uncles were men from the “greatest generation,” but there is no generation of men (or women) greater than another. Every generation has its faults because we are all tainted by sinful pride and selfishness. In spite of human failures, however, thousands and thousands of men serve as examples of humble, yet strong and faithful manhood so that sons, grandsons, and nephews can do the same.
If you’re looking for a “teachable moment” for your sons and grandsons, order “The League of Grateful Sons,” an inspiring film shot on location in Iwo Jima. Watch and listen as veterans who fought there re-tell the story to a younger generation. You may order this DVD from Vision Forum.
Then, thank God for your grandfather, dad, uncles, or brothers who stepped forward to protect and defend home and hearth. It appears I am leaving out the women who serve their country; but, I’m not. I’m grateful to them, too, although I hold fast to the Biblical teaching that women are not called into combat. Discussions with women in the military prove that there are ways for women to serve the country they love without being placed in the direct line of enemy fire.
Thank you, my uncles. Thank you for being my heroes. Thank you for enabling me to live my days in a democratic republic, celebrate freedom, and practice Biblical faith. In the words of General Dwight D. Eisenhower,
The purpose of a devout and united people was set forth in the pages of the Bible… 1) to live in freedom, 2) to work in a prosperous land . . . and 3) to obey the commandments of God . . . This Biblical story of the Promised Land inspired the founders of America. It continues to inspire . . .
me.
Ezerwoman's Blog 
How Did We Forget This?
Posted in Biblical manhood & womanhood, Commentaries of others, Vocation, tagged behavior, choices, church, family, God's Word, home, hope and change, influence, Jesus Christ, marriage, neighbor, opportunity, service to others, state on October 6, 2010| 1 Comment »
Gene Edward Veith, Jr. has done well to remind me. I’m grateful. He doesn’t know it, but he’s helped me to weave the teaching of vocation into Titus 2 for Life (www.titus2-4life.org ). Gene Veith and I met when I was serving as President of Lutherans For Life. We have mutual friends. These days, I see his writings in many publications. Good thing. Through his many vocations, he is engaging the culture with the Biblical worldview.
His book, God at Work: Your Christian Vocation in All of Life (Crossway Books) and his recent article, “Arenas of Service” (WORLD,8-28-10) have been very helpful to me. Somewhere in my instruction between home, catechism, and Bible classes, I’ve heard God’s call to live out my faith in whatever I do. Of what good is my faith if it’s private or left in the pew? Non-Christians often seem very committed to living out their particular belief. But, many Christians act as if they’ve either forgotten or never been told what vocation really is.
After the Reformation, Christians held to three key teachings: the authority of Scripture, justification by faith in Jesus Christ, and the doctrine of vocation. “Modern” and “progressive” thinkers work hard to ignore the first two. As for the doctrine of vocation, well, it “faded from the church’s memory,” says Veith.
Vocation, as Veith explains, is like justification: It is God’s work. Vocation is how God works through us. God uses us to care for and govern His creation. He uses our gifts and talents to make a difference. We are called by God into vocations.
Vocation is more than a “job.” Every Christian has multiple vocations. Martin Luther, notes Veith, sorted them into four “estates,” or spheres of life that God established: the church, the household, the state, and what he called “the common order of Christian love.”
God calls His people to vocations in the church. Pastors are called into the ministry. God works through them to teach His Word, preside at His sacraments, and give spiritual care. Laypeople are called, too. They serve in human care, as elders or trustees, singing in the choir, teaching children, and caring for one another.
God calls His people to vocations in the family. Marriage is a vocation. Fatherhood and motherhood are vocations. In fact, as Veith points out, being a brother or sister, a grandfather or grandmother, or nephew or niece are all vocations.
God calls His people to vocations in the state. As citizens, we have responsibilities to our government and to our culture. Some of us are called to serve in positions of government. The United States is unique. U.S. citizens, writes Veith, “have the unusual calling of being both subjects and rulers at the same time, since our democratic republic places the governing authorities themselves under the authority of the people who elect them.” The Christian is to involve himself in civic roles and cultural engagement.
The fourth vocation is “the common order of Christian love.” God calls us to serve Him and others through our ordinary, everyday life and relationships with our neighbors. Some may believe we serve God only by doing “church work,” but this isn’t what Luther and the other reformers taught. We are not to withdraw from the world, but be engaged in it. God transforms the culture through Christian men and women who use His Word in all areas of life.
We go to Divine Service on Sunday to find the forgiveness of Christ, feed on God’s Word, receive the Sacrament of Holy Communion, and grow in our faith. Then, we go back out into the world — our families, neighborhoods, jobs, classrooms, voting booth, volunteer activities — to serve God by serving others.
Galatians 5:6 and 1 Timothy 1:5 remind us that the purpose of every vocation is to love and serve our neighbors.
“God doesn’t need our good works,” Veith quotes Luther, “but our neighbor does.” Our relationship with God is based completely on His work for us in the life, death, and resurrection of Christ. But just as God is hidden in vocation, Christ is hidden in our neighbors.
Matthew 25:40 reminds us that we love and serve God by loving and serving the people He puts into our lives — friends or strangers, easy to love or not, in good times or bad.
In some vocations we exercise authority. But, think of how Jesus exercised His authority… He was a servant.
This Word of God found in Mark 10:42-45 makes me ashamed because, too often, it’s all about me. In my selfishness, I sin against my vocation.
Faithful to God’s pro-life Word, Veith writes, “Vocation clarifies moral issues. Mothers are called to love and serve their children, not abort them or abuse them. Doctors are called to heal their patients, not kill them. Leaders are called to love and serve those under their authority, not exploit and tyrannize them.”
Here’s something else. “Some actions are sinful when done outside of vocation but good works when done within vocation. We have no calling from God that would authorize having sex with someone to whom we are not married. But within the vocation of marriage, sex is not only authorized, it becomes the means by which God creates a one-flesh union, engenders new life, and builds a family.”
Veith explains that “vocation has to do with the priesthood of all believers. A priest is someone who performs a sacrifice. We no longer need sacrifices for our sins, since Christ, our great High Priest, offered Himself as our sacrifice once and for all (Hebrews 9:26). But, in light of that sacrifice, God calls us (Romans 12:1)
We are not called to lord it over others nor are we called to obsess on self-fulfillment. Vocation focuses away from self to others.
Fathers are living sacrifices for their families when they faithfully protect and provide even in weariness and frustration. Mothers are living sacrifices for their families when they put their own feelings aside to encourage husbands and nurture children. Workers on the job are living sacrifices when they do their best to serve both employer and customers.
Veith explains that “Christ, who is in vocation and in the neighbor, takes up all of these sacrifices, small or great, into His sacrifice. And He loves and serves His creation by means of our love and service in our vocations.”
A Biblical understanding of vocation means that nothing we do to God’s glory is ordinary or insignificant. Luther said that changing a child’s diaper is holy work. In that vein, so is preparing a meal, changing a tire, looking after an unmarried aunt, being a good listener, doing homework, donating blood, sitting by the bedside of a dying spouse, being informed about candidates before election day, praying, training in purity, paying fair salary, and performing honest labor. The list goes on… and on.
Our vocations are many. God works through our vocations to serve others. Trusting this, says Veith, changes the quality of what we do. He’s right. It changes the words we choose, the music we sing, the business we transact, the clothing we wear… even the table we set.
Thank you, Gene Edward Veith, for helping me review my vocations. May God help me see every word and deed as opportunities to serve not self, but others.
Now, for the rest of you, move on over and sit a spell with The Blog of Veith www.geneveith.com
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