YOU ARE NOT FORGOTTEN!

YOU ARE NOT FORGOTTEN!

Life offers a wide array of joyful experiences.  However, no one can fully appreciate or celebrate the good without experiencing some of the bad.  Such times leave us feeling isolated and alone, scratching our heads and searching our hearts for meaning in the midst of misery or madness.

Such was the case with US soldiers serving in the Philippines during World War II.  The army was forced to retreat and some were left behind.  They became war prisoners of Japan.  These men called themselves “ghosts” – souls unseen by their nation.  During the infamous Bataan Death March, they were forced to walk over 70 miles with a bare minimum of water and nourishment.  Those who were slow or weak either died from dysentery along the way or were bayoneted by their captors. Those who made it through the death march spent the next three years in a hellish prisoner-of-war camp.

By early 1945, some 513 men were still alive at the Cabanatuan Prison Camp, but they were rapidly losing hope.  As the US Army advanced in their direction, the POWs heard the terrifying news that war prisoners were now being executed as the Japanese army prepared to retreat.

Nevertheless, their wavering hope was met by one of the most magnificent rescues in wartime history.  In an astonishing tactical feat, 120 US soldiers and 200 Filipino guerrillas outflanked 8,000 Japanese soldiers and courageously rescued the POWs.

Alvie Robbins was one of the rescuers.  He reported finding a prisoner-of-war muttering in a darkened corner of his barracks with tears streaming down his face.

“I thought we’d been forgotten,” the prisoner muttered.

“No, you are not forgotten,” Robbins reminded him softly.  “You are all heroes and we have come to take you home.”

Occasionally during this life, we might experience a similar tendency – to lose hope, to feel that God has forgotten or abandoned us to harmful and hurtful experiences.  But the cross of Christ reminds us of the incredible investment that our Lord has made in us.  The resurrection offers the blessed assurance that someday we, too, will see our Rescuer face-to-face and be liberated from the struggle and stress of our life-situations.  When CHRIST returns, we will hear His welcoming voice: “You are not forgotten.  I have come to take you home.”

In the words of the Apostle Paul, “There is laid up for me a crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will give to me on that Day, and not to me only but also to all who have loved His appearing.” (II Timothy 4:8)

Sisters and brothers, be continually blessed, and please (above all else) MAKE SURE YOU ARE READY TO MEET OUR SOON COMING KING.  Maranatha!