Sunday was Easter and the house was packed. I got word that a man in uniform was among us. I love to honor those who are serving our nation when they come to church so as I took the podium I asked him to stand so we could thank him. As he did the congregation applauded loudly. I was proud of their response and to be honest got a little teary, I do that.
After the service standing at the front of the auditorium was the soldier. He said simply to me, “I gave my life to Christ, it was time.” He’d been coming to church and had not been in uniform before but it was this day, Resurrection Sunday, that it all came together for him and he decided to surrender his life to Christ. My heart was leaping, this is what I live for, to see people come to Christ. In the next moment he threw his arms around me in a big embrace. He thanked me and talked over and over about how “it was time”. I encouraged him and thanked him for taking his time and making sure he knew what he was doing, the commitment he was making. He must have embraced me four or five times as we talked.
I loved it. Because it was real. This young man, this soldier, had made a very real commitment to the King of Kings. And he embraced the messenger who was humbled by the way God had moved.
“A Soldier’s Embrace”
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