Earned or Wasted?
In the movie Saving Private Ryan, James Francis Ryan and his three brothers are soldiers in World War II. During the course of the war all three of his brothers are killed. Because of this, headquarters says he needs to come home. Tom Hanks plays Captain Miller, who is assigned to go find Private Ryan and bring him back. Although the men in Captain Miller’s squad think that this mission is a complete waste, they eventually find James. When they reach Private Ryan, he does not want to go home, he insists that he must stay with the only family he has left. Against orders Captain Miller stays with Ryan and his squad to defend the position. During the battle Captain Miller is wounded gravely. As he is dying, he asks Ryan one simple thing, “James, earn this. Earn it.” At the end of the movie you see James Ryan and his family at Captain Miller’s grave site. As he stands there James thinks out loud, “My family is with me today. They wanted to come with me. To be honest with you, I wasn’t sure how I’d feel coming back here. Every day, I think about what you said to me that day on the bridge. I’ve tried to live my life the best I could. I hope it was enough. I hope that at least in your eyes I’ve earned what all of you have done for me.
Just like Private Ryan, we as Christians had someone lay down His life for us. James Ryan never asked those men to come get him, and those men never asked to go get him. God the Father sent His son Jesus to us so that we could be saved in the end. I’m sure that Jesus did not want to die, but since it was the Father’s will He did it.
Philipians 2:8 “And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself and became obedient to death—even death on a cross!”
This story makes me wonder if I have wasted my life… I know for a fact that I have not done everything I can to reach people for Jesus. Sometimes, I have done the complete opposite. But with Christ it is never to late for redemption. He stands at the door and knocks, all we have to do is open the door and let him dwell within us.
We all have been given the gift of life. Just like Private James Francis Ryan, we have been given a simple command, “Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.” We have not been given this life for nothing. We have to earn what we have been given…
Have you wasted you time here? Or have you earned it?
