TRIBUTE TO AN UNKNOWN SOLDIER Larry W Peebles April 30, 2021 21.17
The coronavirus plague has taken the lives of some good people. This article is a tribute to five of them who died this week. I have met them, but I don’t know their names. It seems a bit unusual to write a tribute to someone whose name is not known, but it’s been done before. The Tomb of the Unknown Soldier in Arlington National Cemetery contains this inscription- “Here rests in honored glory an American soldier known but to God.”
The five good soldiers who died this week were all women. They died where they lived- in a home for the elderly in a remote village in India. The coronavirus is currently ravaging the country of India. The women contracted the disease, and were not strong enough to fight it off. Medical help and medicines were simply not available. Medical resources are scarce, and generally accessible only to the wealthy. Price-gouging for the supplies that are obtainable is rampant. They were all poor.
My wife and I met them on a ministry trip to India. Our ministry has made four trips to India, and on each trip one or both of us has visited this home for the elderly. All of the 40-50 residents are poor, and without family or any other means of support. Most are women who have worked in the rice fields for food, clothing and shelter. One we met on our last trip was over 100 years old. All are small and frail. When they are too old to work, the owners of the fields simply drop them off on the highway and leave them. Having used them up for their own gain, the owners discard them like a bag of trash. A local Christian ministry we support finds them and brings them to the home, where they are offered a bed, food and clothing. The ministry staff reads the Bible to them, and prays with them. If they were not already Christian-the odds are small since only 3% of India is Christian-they grow into the faith, and begin to pray on their own.
My friend is Bishop over the local ministry which encompasses not only the home for the elderly, but a number of orphanages and 300 churches. He says the elderly people became the backbone of his ministry. When I first heard that comment, I thought that was ironic. Many of these old women had worked bent over in the rice fields for so long they could not stand up straight. Their backbones were permanently bent. It was difficult for them to walk. They could hardly do anything. Yet they were the strength of his ministry.
“They can pray”, said the Bishop. “Some of them pray all day.” It was the only thing they could do, so they prayed long and faithfully. These five women prayed especially powerfully. They were made aware of all the activities of Bishop’s ministry- the outdoor evangelism, pastors’ conferences, and food and supplies for the lepers’ colonies and orphanages. They prayed for India and the salvation of the Hindus. They were warriors in the spiritual realm for the advancement of the Gospel of Jesus Christ, and all other aspects of Bishop’s ministry efforts.
When we visited them, they were always so happy to see us. I doubt they had many visitors. We came with new clothes, food, and a word from the Lord to encourage them. We served them a meal, ate with them, and prayed over each of them. I remember feeling so small about the things that occupied my time and efforts when their world was so very small and simple—food, a bed, clothes and prayer. In spite of their circumstances, I left encouraged and impressed with their huge smiles. They in fact had ministered to us, and given a lift to me.
When they died, there was no obituary or ceremony. Because of the fear of coronavirus, there was no help in burying them. The director of the home simply dug a grave by hand, and put their bodies in the ground. There was no casket. Maybe when the virus is under control, there will be a ceremony and perhaps a grave marker with their names. Their end was as simple as the final years of their lives.
There were tears for sure. The Bishop called me when his director had called him as each one died-two in one night, and two the next. A few days later another died. The director’s grief was unbearable, and yet he was responsible to dig the hole and put them in the grave. We have met the director as well. He is a compassionate man, full of the love of Jesus and the joy of the Lord. I cannot imagine his pain in seeing his precious women go.
As I prayed for these women the night before writing this article, I was reminded of the ultimate irony. These prayer saints and soldiers in the army of the Lord have now received their reward. In a material sense, as simple and poor as their existence on earth had been, how glorious and extravagant is their life eternal. The world did not note their passing. How proud all of heaven must have been to welcome them home. They did not look like soldiers on earth, but they were giant-slayers in the spirit. I can hear the Father say “Well done, thy good and faithful servants. Enter into your rest.”
The Biblical story that illustrates this is found in Luke 16:19-31-
“19. There was a certain rich man who was clothed in purple and fine linen and fared sumptuously [ate well] every day. But there was a certain beggar named Lazarus, full of sores, who laid at the gate, desiring to be fed with the crumbs which fell from the rich man’s table. Moreover the dogs came and licked his sores.”
“22. So it was that the beggar died, and was carried by the angels to Abraham’s bosom. The rich man also died and was buried. And being in torment in Hades, he lifted up his eyes and saw Abraham afar off, and Lazarus in his bosom. Then he cried and said, ‘Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus, that he may dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue; for I am tormented in this flame.”
“25. But Abraham said, Son, remember that in your lifetime you received your good things, and likewise Lazarus evil things; but now he is comforted and you are tormented. And besides all this, between us and you there is a great gulf fixed so that those who want to pass from here to you cannot, nor can those from there pass to us.”
“27. Then he said, ‘I beg you therefore, father, that you would send him to my father’s house, for I have five brothers, that he may testify to them, lest they also come to this place of torment.”
“29. Abraham said to him, ‘They have Moses and the prophets; let them hear them.’ And he said, ‘No, father Abraham; but if one goes to them from the dead, they will repent.’ But he said to him, ‘If they do not hear Moses and the prophets, neither will they be persuaded though one rise from the dead.”
Jesus’ story from the book of Luke reminds us that there are those who have little on earth, but much in heaven, and those who receive much on earth, but nothing from heaven. The choice is made now, while we have a life on earth. The outcome after death is not reversible. Jesus pointed out that, regrettably, even His death and resurrection would not convince some of this eventuality.
These five women, whose names are relatively unknown, have chosen well. They may not have been known on earth, but they had the attentive ear of their Heavenly Father who heard their prayers. These women were not celebrated or recognized as great while on earth, but will be honored and treasured for eternity with God in heaven. They now stand straight. Their example is worthy of reflection. The greatest tribute we can now give them is to make adjustments in our lives that lead to a life of prayer, an intimate relationship with Jesus, and a reputation as a warrior for the cause of His kingdom. My wife and I thank God for the privilege of meeting these amazing Unknown Soldiers.
