“Three things will last forever—faith, hope, and love—and the greatest of these is love.” 1 Corinthians 13:13
From the official website of the movie No Greater Love; “No Greater Love, the award-winning documentary, invites the audience to experience war and its aftermath from a soldier’s perspective.”
“No Greater Love depicts the combat deployment of the legendary “No Slack” Battalion, 101st Airborne Division, through the eyes of Army Chaplain Justin David Roberts. While deployed in Afghanistan, Justin decided to carry a camera to document the hardships his unit endured. He captured not only the gritty reality of war but also the incredibly strong bond that is forged between soldiers.” Little did Justin know that his decision to carry a camera would culminate in the movie, No Greater Love. Chaplain Justin D. Roberts writes “The only way that you can really come back from war is with love.”
The common thread I’ve seen woven throughout stories of war, is love. I’ve heard soldiers and Marines tell how they knew as they were fighting that they were fighting for their country, their family and for freedom, but more importantly that they were fighting for love. It was the love they had for their fellow soldiers that kept them in the fight. Some even express, through their last breath, their regret for not being able to continue the fight because of their wounds, and many have sacrificially laid down their life to save a friend.
Jesus tells us in John 15:13, “Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends.” The Apostle Paul expresses to us the importance of keeping this main thing the main thing by not allowing ourselves to be misled into thinking our spiritual gifts are of more value than love itself.
The foundation and gold standard of love is found in the greatest love the world has ever known as demonstrated through the Father and Jesus. The Father gave His Son and Jesus, the Son, willing went to the cross so that you and me could be reconciled with the Father.
Today let us be reminded that, although there are lots of great things all around us, “the greatest of these is love!”