Today we remember the men of D-Day.
For Christians, there is an unavoidable tension in doing so.
We look upon the beaches of Normandy and see horrors that should grieve every human heart. Young men cut down in the surf. Bodies strewn across the sand. Families forever altered by telegrams that would soon arrive at their front doors. War is not beautiful. It is one of the clearest reminders that we live in a world fractured by sin.
And yet, if Christianity teaches us to mourn violence, it does not teach us to surrender to evil.
The same Scriptures that call us to love our enemies also praise courage, honor sacrifice, and recognize the God-given responsibility of governing authorities to restrain wickedness and protect the innocent. The character of a Christian and the character of a soldier are not inherently at odds. Indeed, throughout history, countless Christian men have taken up arms not because they loved violence, but because they loved what violence threatened to destroy.
The men who stormed Normandy did not cross the English Channel because they were eager for bloodshed. They crossed because tyranny had engulfed a continent, because millions were suffering under unspeakable evil, and because some things are worth defending, even at terrible cost.
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John Stuart Mill once observed that while war is an ugly thing, there are things uglier still — among them the moral decay that convinces a people that nothing is worth fighting for. He was right. A man unwilling to risk himself for justice, liberty, truth, or the protection of others is not a peaceful man. He is simply a man who has decided that his own safety matters more than those things.
The Christian understands that peace is precious. But he also understands that peace purchased through surrender to evil is not peace at all.
That is why we honor the men of D-Day.
Not because they loved war.
Not because they were perfect.
Not because Christians delight in violence.
We honor them because, when confronted with a great evil, they were willing to place themselves in its path.
Jesus said, "Greater love has no one than this, that someone lay down his life for his friend."
The soldiers of D-Day were not saviors. Only Christ can bear that title. Yet on those beaches, we catch a glimpse of a truth woven into the very heart of the Gospel: that love is often measured not by what it receives, but by what it is willing to sacrifice for the good of another.
Thousands of young men stepped into the surf knowing they would likely never return home.
Many did not.
Their sacrifice became the price of liberty for generations they would never meet.
For that sacrifice, and for the God-given courage that made it possible, we give thanks.
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