One of my favorite movies/television shows of all time is the epic 10 part mini-series, “Band of Brothers.” This drama follows the men of Easy Company from Currahee to the Eagle’s Nest. Along the way, I fell in love with these men’s courage, camaraderie, and sacrifice. There is just something about this “greatest generation” that has forever fascinated me. The men of Easy Company were volunteer soldiers — thousands of America’s best and brightest willingly signed up to land on Omaha Beach with the chance to liberate the world from Hitler’s evil grip. In a sense, the men of Easy Company recognized the riches they had been blessed with as American citizens, and responded to that blessing by willingly laying down their lives for the country they loved.
I was thinking about this band of brothers this week as I read and reread the words of Romans 12. In this pivotal chapter in Paul’s epic theological treatise, we see the Apostle Paul transition his presentation from “that which God has done for us” to “that which we are called to do in response to what God has done for us.” As the Apostle Paul makes this transition, he pens two sentences which help us understand every command that will follow. In these two sentences, Paul basically says that as we recognize how deeply we have been blessed by God as citizens in His heavenly home, we should respond by willingly laying down our lives for Him who loves us.
This Sunday at Wildwood, we will gather as a band of brothers and sisters in Christ to look in depth at the words of Romans 12:1-2 as we begin a new sermon series entitled, “Therefore.” Over the next few weeks, we will be looking at the entirety of Romans 12 to see what the appropriate response is from God’s people who have been blessed by His amazing grace. We look forward to worshipping with you this weekend in either our 9:30 or 10:50 service.