Gettysburg

The first of July Kathy and I went to Gettysburg with a wonderful couple. It was my first time and since I loved history I soaked it all in. We strolled the battlefield. We read the historical markers. We watched films and took tours to get the picture of what happened on July 1, 2, 3, 1863 in the small Pennsylvania town. The causalities were enormous. Fifty-three thousand soldiers died in the largest battle to take place on American soil.

There is a soberness that goes with being on such "holy" ground. A place where men were willing to die for a cause. The blood that must have been shed. But an interesting side to the story is that a number of the officers, though on different sides, were friends. Two such friends were General Winfield S. Hancock (Union Army) and General Lewis A. Armistead (Confederate Army). Good friends, but now enemies. What makes friends fight against each other?

That is a good question for those of us who follow Jesus. What makes friends fight against each other? May we take the words of Paul and apply them - Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love. (Ephesians 4:2).

The Civil War and more particularly Gettysburg stands as a bloody memorial of what happens when friends fight. May that not be true of God's church. May it not be true in your church. May it not be true with me.

Sid