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This coming Monday we will celebrate Memorial Day, a time to remember
and give thanks for the many brave men and women who have given their
lives for our great country. The following Monday, June 6, is the 67th
anniversary of D-Day. We look back in awe and appreciation of the
heroic actions of the thousands of Allied soldiers who stormed the
beaches of Normandy that June day. The significance of the landing
forces was not lost to the defending Germans. Field Marshall Erwin
Rommel is reportedly to have told his men, “You must stop them on the
first day. If you don’t stop them on the first day, it’s over.”
D-Day was the beginning of the end. The liberation of a small beach in
northern France became the starting point for the ultimate defeat of
Hitler and liberation of all of Europe.
There was another D-Day that happened nearly 2000 years ago. The Son of
God left the security of heaven and invaded the earthly realms of
Satan’s power. Satan must have felt a little like Field Marshall
Rommel. He realized that if he did not stop Jesus that the Kingdom of
God would eventually expand into all parts of the earth.
Unlike God, Satan is not all-knowing. He believed that if he could kill
Jesus on the cross that God’s plan to liberate mankind would be
defeated. He must have gloated that first Good Friday. The Son of Man
hung dying; the little band of disciples was confused and in hiding.
But God had other things in mind. Satan didn’t understand the Old
Testament Scriptures that indicated that the Messiah would become the
supreme sacrifice for mankind. When Jesus arose from the tomb on the
third day, Satan’s ultimate defeat was certain.
Even though Hitler’s fate was sealed the day the Allied Forces secured
the beaches, his forces fought on for over a year. Sometimes they
inflicted heavy casualties and even appeared to be winning.
Just because Satan’s fate was sealed on the first Easter doesn’t mean
that he is going down without a fight. He sends hate, sickness, wars,
untimely deaths, broken homes, injustices and disbelief at us every
chance he gets. But we can still choose a positive, victorious
attitude because regardless of the pain and evil that Satan may cause,
in the end God is still victorious. As Christians, we have joined up
with a Winner!
Paul Jetter, Upper Valley Community Church |
