The Vietnam Veterans Memorial is a stunning testimony to the 58,000 soldiers who lost their lives during the Vietnam era. Erected in 1982, not only does the ebony surface list the names of those who died, it also reflects back the faces of those still living.
The Vietnam Veterans Memorial is a bridge between the living and the dead, entangling those who gave their lives with the people they died for. It also testifies to the pedigree of each of the men and women listed on its face. They are soldiers and heroes, one and all, for they gave the ultimate sacrifice for their country.
The Vietnam Veterans Memorial is a Wall of Honor, meant to show our nation’s pride in her most precious sons and daughters. The memorial also substantiates individual soldier’s lives, telling the proof that they are due the honor they are given.
In Colossians 1:23-29 Paul felt the need to erect a Wall of Honor. He needed to erect a bridge between the living and the dead, to reflect the faces of the living in the accounts of the dead, and to entangle the one who gave his life on the cross with the people he died for.
Paul needed to prove he had the right to speak for God.
So, Paul raised his memorial high, penning his words to the believers at Colosse, one of three cities grouped in the Lycus Valley. The local church, originally founded by a man named Epaphras, was now being misled by men teaching false doctrine. Paul had to offer proof that he had the qualifications and the right to straighten them out.
Paul did it with a Wall of Honor. What did Paul list on his Wall of Honor? His sacrifices and qualifications. Let’s look at the proof Paul offered:
Proof #1: I have been made a minister of the faith brought to you by Epaphras.
Paul connected himself to the church at Colosse. Just as they had heard the message of the Christ, so that same hope formed the core of Paul’s ministry.
Proof #2: I am suffering for you, so that Christ’s suffering may be complete.
Paul was in prison as he wrote this letter. Yet, he considered himself lucky to be worthy of suffering for Jesus. He felt it was the least he could do for his Lord, who had suffered even unto death.
Proof #3: God wishes me to bring to you, the gentiles, a new message of hope.
Paul had received the New Covenant. He refused to become embroiled in any discussion that did not center on the message of the cross. It was the only message that counted.
Proof #4: I bring to you, Christ’s saints, the great secret of the ages, unfolded and offered to you for your sanctification.
Up to this time, the gospel had been reserved for the Jews. Now, it was offered to the gentiles, manifested to the believers, including those at Colosse, who would now be full partakers of the New Covenant made flesh by the cross.
Proof #5: As Christ lives in me, so Christ in you is your only hope of glory.
Paul was not a salesman, hoping to ameliorate deteriorating conditions in Colosse by a Band-Aid approach. Rather, the solution he offered was one that lived in him, one that minded no racial or political barriers, and one that was made possible by the cross. He offered Jesus.
Proof #6: I endeavor to bring all men to Christ, that I may present them to God, perfect in every way through Jesus Christ.
Paul knew of the false teachings in Colosse. He wished the believers there to mature in truth and wisdom, for only then could they stand perfect before God. Paul also felt the onus on his shoulders, for God had given him the responsibility to share the gospel with all men.
Proof #7: I can do this through the power of the Christ who lives in me.
Paul acknowledges his own human frailty. He has never lost sight of the change Christ made in him, taking him from persecutor of the church to purveyor of the New Covenant. He boasts in the cross as his strength and strong bulwark.
Those of us who have visited the Vietnam Veterans Memorial have seen ourselves overlaid on the names written with such honor on that black stone. Now we look at Paul’s Wall of Honor. Our faces are reflected in his words. Do we dare ask how we compare?
Even if we close our eyes, the world continues to see us as we are. Let’s make sure it’s the honor of Christ that’s reflected in our actions.
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Code: FGO.B.05.14a.vp