I had the privilege earlier this month of attending a
memorial service for my Uncle Bob. My uncle was my dads older brother; a
highly decorated WWII vet who had lost his leg to enemy fire in one of the
concluding battles of the war.
While it may have been only a degree above freezing in
early January in Chicago, the graveside committal service was heart
warming. Our family was together and some of us had come in to be there
to show our support and to honor this dear and brave man.
Wouldn’t it be great to understand what it means to
really honor someone? The government has
it right regarding honor to our veterans.
Because my uncle was former military a detachment from the US Army
served as an honor guard in dress uniforms. The local VFW provided a volunteer
honor guard as well and fired three volleys; I even picked up one of the shell
casings for a souvenir.
The two men in dress blues in the honor guard were very
young. They obviously had never met my
Uncle but that fact didn’t matter. They
were honoring him not because who he was but because of his identification, his
attachment with the military and his former service.
The Bible tells us that we are to “honor our mother and
father” (Matt 19:19), and “honor the king” (1 Peter 2:17) as well as many
others. There are more than a few
mothers and fathers as well as kings that likely behave in a way that is less
than honorable. However, honor is due
not because of the person but because of that which is greater. Whether it is the US Government, the
military, the office of the President or the Kingdom of God, we honor those not
because of who they are but because of whose they are.
