How Can We Repay Them?

How can we repay the military veterans?






The following is a letter of response to something that was stated today on the Rush Limbaugh radio program:



Dear Mr. Limbaugh,

On your program today you shared the amazing attitude of the veteran who lost his legs and yet counts it as nothing, willingly sacrificing himself for the safety of his countrymen and for liberty. You asked, "Where do we get these people? How can we ever repay them?"

While your sentiment is noble, it misses the point. Sacrifice cannot be repaid. Sacrifice is given freely by one on behalf of another/others. It is given for the sake of what one values and believes. Thus we should not ask what you asked. Rather we should listen to those who sacrifice themselves and what they believe is worth their sacrifice. Then we will see what they hope for us, without regard for themselves. They offer themselves for the good that the US Constitution promises. They offer themselves in honor of the republic for which the flag stands.

Those who voluntarily sacrifice themselves for this cause do not want to be repaid. Rather, they want us to follow them in their conviction to what is right and good, declared by the US Constitution and represented by all that has been poured out as blessings upon this nation. What we "owe" those who sacrifice themselves for us is to live in the freedom that they have purchased for us, using that freedom to further the good that these valiant warriors have demonstrated by their sacrifice.

So, rather than wonder where we get these people, let us look to the convictions that produce them. Rather than wondering how to repay them, let us live the life that they have purchased with their own.

If you haven't guessed it, I believe that the good for which they stand is founded in a greater source of good than the US Constitution, the primary declaration of good upon which the founding fathers stood and called upon for the basis of their Constitution. Most who have sacrificed themselves for this nation have at least in some degree shared in that understanding. This is why such sacrifice seems so far beyond us: because it is. It comes from a source far beyond our comprehension, but not beyond the faith that trusts in that source of good.