Saving his neighbor was all that mattered to him. Known at first as the rebel soldier who refused to carry a gun, Desmond Doss is now remembered as a hero who saved the lives of around seventy-five men during the bloody Okinawa Hacksaw Ridge battle of 1945. “Lord, help me get one more,” he prayed as he carried the wounded soldiers on his shoulders to safety one by one.
Two things impress me greatly about this story: First, he crossed through the open fire to save each man, unarmed. Second, he saved both fellow soldiers and “enemy” soldiers alike. Doing good to his neighbor was his philosophy.
Who is my neighbor?
On his journey from one city to another, a man was attacked by robbers. They robbed everything he had, even stripped him of his clothes, and left him wounded and abandoned on the side of the road. Three men stumbled upon him: a priest, a Levite, and a Samaritan. The first two were “highly religious,” and the third was someone looked down upon and hated by Jews.
Guess who stopped and showed mercy upon the beaten-up man? Luke 10:34-35
Not just wishing but doing
God is a god of action. Oh, how many times do we, as Christians, fall into the trap of “Christian passivity”! It’s alarming how we sometimes seem so used to handing out an overrated “I’ll pray for you” left and right without much thought to the things we can do to relieve the pain and suffering of someone else because that is the comfortable thing to do.
Prayer should not be used as the cover of a half-dead mediocre faith. Because faith; more than a philosophy, system, or set of beliefs, is action. Opportunities to be kind to others will always be there. The question is, are we paying attention?
When loving your neighbor hurts
Desmond Doss didn’t return home unharmed. When he was getting picked up from the field, he asked that another soldier more extensively injured be taken first. He suffered severe injuries to an arm and leg.
Jesus too went the extra mile during His ministry. Doing good to those who loved Him and to those who didn’t. Luke 22: 47-51
Then He laid His life your you and me on the cross.
Would you like to love as boldly as Jesus?
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