“Is this guy for real?” my husband asked. We were watching Mel Gibson’s Hacksaw Ridge about the selfless medic who risked his life saving his fellow soldiers. Two things stood out in that film about medic Desmond Doss: his determination to save lives and his utmost fidelity to the tenets of his faith. So I decided to read up on this soldier and sure enough, no movie could have had enough time to tell of Doss’ complete faith in God which was the root of his heroism.
A Seventh Day Adventist, Doss had his Bible and his Sabbath Day Quarterly to guide him. He didn’t drink, swear, smoke, eat meat. He prayed over everything. Aloud. His fellow soldiers didn’t appreciate his night prayers and launched shoes at him. Nor did they appreciate his refusal to work on Saturdays, his Sabbath, but the army’s heavy-duty work day. Nothing could shake Doss from obeying God’s word. He found himself talking to army commanders about the Sabbath, not in terms of his rights being violated as would be the case today, but about his religious belief.
From those religious beliefs came his commitment to help all who needed him. A wounded soldier stranded in a rice paddy under sniper fire? No medics wanted to chance it. Doss prayed aloud and slithered through the water to help. Did he see the Japanese sniper mere yards in front of him? Did he think of personal danger while he was lowering wounded soldiers over the ridge? No, it was “Please Jesus, let me save just one more.”
Reading this book made me feel guilty.
I started to look at my own life.
- Do I live a strong commitment to Christ above all else?
- Do I pray in depth or with a perfunctory nod to words instead of heart?
- Do I keep the Lord’s Day holy instead of running off to Wal-Mart for nothing important?
- Do I open the prayer books I’ve inherited or study the Bible?
- In other words, do I immerse myself in what I profess to believe?
I don’t know about you, but I’ve got a long way to go.
By Matthew Brooks. Used with Permission.
This article, Guilted: a lenten moment is a post from The Bellarmine Forum.
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