The World War I Victory Medal depicts an angelic being known as Victory bearing a starry crown and brandishing a sword and shield. The back carries a shield and stars.
Congress initiated a bill to authorize the decoration, but it never passed. Then the U.S. Army stepped up and authorized the medal in April 1919, and the U.S. Navy followed suit the next June.
The Army and Navy wanted to acknowledge the participation of U.S. servicemen and -women in that great global battle. Many gave their lives for the freedom of all men, and those who came home were lucky, indeed.
What Congress failed to understand, the Army and Navy grasped immediately. It’s not the generals that win the war. It’s the men and women in the trenches, the ones who risk life and limb, who rout the enemy and bring victory to those who need it most.
Over time, several variations of the Victory Medal were published, but all told the same story: Here is a heroic soldier who risked life and limb to spread freedom throughout the world.
Yet, to receive that World War I Victory Medal, one of three qualifications had to be met.
Victory Medal Qualification #1:
Any Military Service from April 6, 1917, to November 11, 1918.
Victory Medal Qualification #2:
Service in Russia’s European territories from that November to the 5th of August 1919.
Victory Medal Qualification #3:
Service in Siberia with the American Expeditionary Force from November 23, 1918, to April 1, 1920.
The Christian soldier in the trenches will also receive a Victory Medal. Where is our Victory Medal in Christ? We will find it in Christ’s words when he tells us well done, thou good and faithful servant.
What are the standards Christ holds us to so that we can receive our spiritual Victory Medal?
Christ’s Victory Standard #1:
Ephesians 6:13 tells us we must take on the whole armor of God.
Christ’s Victory Standard #2:
Hebrews 4:12 tells us the Word of God is our sharp and two-edged sword.
Christ’s Victory Standard #3:
2 Corinthians 10:4 tells us our weapons are of the spirit, not of the body.
Our spiritual Victory Medal depicts Christ on a Cross, and on the back is an empty tomb. We are God’s foot soldiers, and when we battle for him, he notices, and he wishes to reward us.
Romans 6:23 reveals the true reward that is our Victory Medal. In this verse we learn that if we lose the battle, we will earn death, but to the winner is given the Medal of Victory, which is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.
We can wear our medal proudly, for it tells the story of a soldier who has risked life and limb to spread the message of Christ throughout the world.
We may suffer in the battle, but our Victory Medal in Christ will be worth it all.
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