Sacrificial

“In some way, suffering ceases to be suffering at the moment it finds a meaning, such as the meaning of a sacrifice.”

“The salvation of man is through love and in love.”

Friends and family had gathered. The wedding party was standing in their respective places. Everyone was waiting on the bride to come walking down the aisle.

But standing was a difficult task for this young bride – let alone walking.

The Church and the military have a lot in common. Both involve large groups of people. Both have missions. Both exist for the benefit of others. Both require personal sacrifice.

But they also have one very remarkable difference.

On February 23, 2014, Brooke Dawkins was crossing a busy street in Orlando, FL near the University of Central Florida. Sadly, she was struck by a vehicle and died at a local hospital after a ten-day stay in intensive care.

But what proved tragic for one family was life-saving for another.

Dachau Concentration Camp, 1945. A place of unrelenting suffering and death. More than 25,000 “enemies of the state” lost their lives in this hellish place during the Holocaust. Every prisoner trapped behind the wire jumped at the chance of escape.

Every prisoner except Viktor Frankl.

Where did you meet your spouse? (Fellas, I apologize if I put you on the spot.) Did you meet her at college? Did you find him at church? Elevator? Job interview? Married couples have met in some unique places over the years.

But no one has ever met their spouse in a stranger place than William Tippins.

Julian had a problem: Christianity was taking over his empire. But dealing with that problem highlighted an even bigger one: his authority as Emperor wasn’t sufficient to rid his land of Christians.

His military might was simply no match for their humility and sacrificial nature.

Most folks on the pro-life side of the abortion fence wonder what those on the opposite side of the issue think about unborn babies. Are they human? Just a fetus? A life? Tissue? Now, thanks to one pro-choice writer, there is crystal clear understanding.

An unborn baby is nothing more than a “life worth sacrificing.”

In August of 480 BC, a few hundred Spartans led by King Leonidas battled against 150,000 Persian warriors led by King Xerxes. The heavily outnumbered Greeks held their ground, repelled the invaders, and controlled the battle for three days.

But there was one thing King Leonidas couldn’t control…and it would prove fatal.