The Great Reward of Service

"In great deeds something abides. On great fields something stays. Forms change and pass; bodies disappear; but spirits linger, to consecrate ground for the vision-place of souls. And reverent men and women from afar, and generations that know us not and that we know not of, heart-drawn to see where and by whom great things were suffered and done for them, shall come to this deathless field, to ponder and dream; and lo! The shadow of a mighty presence shall wrap them in its bosom, and the power of the vision pass into their souls. This is the great reward of service. To live, far out and on, in the life of others; this is the mystery of the Christ,-to give life's best for such high sake that it shall be found again unto life eternal." MAJ. GEN. JOSHUA LAWRENCE CHAMBERLAINGettysburg Oct 3, 1889

The great reward of service, four words that have no place on the lips of many American’s these days for service is a lost art to many of us. Their days are spent serving not the needs of a country or our neighbors but in making ends meet in their own self centered lives. It is the life of non-service that greats the Anti-American and those that would subvert our cause in Democracy and Republicanism. Not the republicanism of the political party but rather the Republicanism of the service of others for the greater good, that an elected official should work for our greater good and not the special interest of who has the most money. The republicanism that our men and women in uniform are serving a greater good so that you can take for granted all that is in your life. The republicanism that your needs are not greater than the needs of our country, that no one person is worth more than another, that we judge a man by his character and not his political leanings.

Saturday my sons and I stood upon the hill that MG Chamberlain defended from aggression, and we walked the fields where it is said you could have walked from one end to the other and not once touched solid ground for the bodies lay so thick upon it, and not once could I fathom that there would be a group of people that would willingly take us back to a time such as that. But, those in our country that hate America are doing just that. They seek to create a rift between those that serve others and those that serve themselves and they can win this battle if we allow them.

Just after the first of the year I was afforded the opportunity to view the memorial service of a good and wonderful man, it was the service of Sgt Mike Stokely, His father has sent me a copy of the service on DVD so that I could be a part of the continuing shadow of his presence. In that service I heard the pastor say something that struck me as so fundamentally true and yet so simple that most people would never think of it, but it strikes true to our belief that service is the reward for our lives. The pastor said, “Honor is not the reward for what one receives, Honor is the reward for what one gives.”

Think about that and then ask yourself this question; will you receive the great reward of service or will honor slip you by as you seek to destroy us for your own petty gains?