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| US General Douglass MacArthur |
In his farewell address to congress, US General Douglass MacArthur said, "Old soldiers never die; they just fade away." MacArthur then described himself as "an old soldier who tried to do his duty as God gave him the light to see that duty."
Concerning War itself, MacArthur restated what he had said after accepting the formal surrender of Japan; "The problem basically is theological."
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| French General Ferdinand Foch |
Ferdinand Foch (Fo-sh) is one of those "old soldiers" who have faded away in the mists of time. At the beginning of World War 1 he was in command of part of the 2nd French Army, by the end of the war he was Supreme Commander of the Allied Armies.
General Foch is a man worth researching. Here are some of his more notable quotes.
Only a week after taking command of 9th Army during the great allied retreat to the sea with allied armies retreating all around him, he held his ground tenaciously and said this: "Hard pressed on my right. My center is yielding. Impossible to maneuver. Situation excellent. I attack."
After liberating Châlons and being congratulated by the Bishop of Châlons he replied: "Not unto us, o Lord, not unto us, but to Your name give glory, (Psalm 115:1)"
On the treaty of Versailles: "This is not a peace. It is an armistice for 20 years."
Foch, a triumphant hero in his day, like countless others is now long forgotten by most. However I don't think we should be overly surprised or dismayed by this. God speaks very clearly in His Word on what we should learn from this phenomenon.
(1 Peter 1:24, 25)
24 For all flesh is as grass, and all the glory of man as the flower of grass. The grass withereth, and the flower thereof falleth away:
25 But the word of the Lord endureth for ever. And this is the word which by the gospel is preached unto you.
From before Cain through this very moment the problem of war has been a theological one. Mankind is helplessly caught up with itself rather than God the creator.
The problem with great men fading from memory is also theological. Because the glory of the great ones is a far cry short of the glory of God. Even much more than the glory of a grass hut is from the glory of granite palace.
In every age great ones have come and gone. Great speeches have been spoken, and forgotten.
Even if they are not forgotten yet, ultimately those words (and the ideas they represent) cannot stand the test of time - yet by faith we know the Word of God will. Untold millennia from now who will remember anything from our world? Who will want to? The only things that will last from our time will be those things done for Christ in accordance to His Word. To be truly great in an eternal, everlasting sense is for God to be shown great in our lives.
Forever is still a hard concept for me to grasp. I can't force my mind to feel the weight of it, but I can rest assured that the Word of God will endure f o r e v e r.
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Soli Deo Gloria,
Josh
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| Reform your life and doctrine, meet with God in the text |
1 comment:
I recently read 1776 by David McCullough. I'd put George Washington in this category of man that God had put His finger on. Certainly he struggled with his drawbacks (inexperience, indecision, didn't galvanize his leadership initially, etc.) but he was used and persevered through great difficulties in spirit and condition. To your point, he famously said "It is impossible to rightly govern a nation without God and the Bible."
john 3:30
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