No Man Left Behind

My father in law spoke to me the other night about some of the events that he experienced in Vietnam; positions he held, people he met; things that he witnessed. He told me about the number of men that lost their lives and about soldiers that went back to rescue the dead and wounded. Many more lives were lost-- not just saving the wounded but also saving the dead.

I could feel the regard seep out of him as he proudly and tearfully uttered  his Marine mantra “No man left behind.” 

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Of course, I want to thank our service men and women for enduring things that I can't even fathom. As I try to comprehend the sentiment, it challenges me on other areas as well.

I could make this about faith and spirituality and ask us to consider what our spiritual journey might be like if we stopped trying to improve our own status so that we could go and rescue the dead we’re beside. 

But stop and imagine with me if you will-- what the world would be like if no matter what platform we’re on, what battle we’re in or what our background was; if we all cared enough about humanity to do the same. No matter how dead, or how heavy or how un-self-serving another was; we loved each other THAT much.

Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one’s life for one’s friends. - John 15:13

Jesus replied: 'Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the first and greatest commandment.' And the second is like it: 'Love your neighbor as yourself.' - Matthew 22:37-38

And now these three remain: faith, hope, and love. But the greatest of these is love. - 1 Corinthians 13:13

Photo Credit: http://www.g2mil.com/