Pastor's Blog

Keeping On

The movie “Saving Private Ryan” came out in the late 1990’s and set the bar for realistic war movies. Many unpaid reviewers were overwhelmed by the violent depiction of war. And for soldiers that had been in battle, the movie didn’t quite capture the whole essence of battle. Scripted fights, screams, and cannons are not able to replace the chaos that happens when the enemy begins firing. Although the movie was unable to appease everyone, many people had their first taste of the underbelly of military engagement, and it wasn’t anything you wanted another helping of.

A friend of mine who served in Vietnam tells of losing friends and “war brothers” to bullets of the enemy. Trying to keep your focus when people you cared about were falling next to you proved incredibly difficult. But pressing the fight was the only thing to do. The officer in charge of the men couldn’t retreat because they had run into some tough fighting. If the mission was to succeed, they needed to continue. This attitude isn’t disrespectful of the fallen but uses their sacrifice as the momentum forward.

Lately those who have worked and sacrificed on behalf of Hillcrest Church have captivated my mind. Family names like Bosch, Ribbink, and Martin are joined with legacies of other faithful families still living, calling us to keep moving forward. John 9:4 seems to suggest a time when no work is being done. We don’t know when that time will arrive so let’s be busy “making disciples by helping people find and follow Jesus Christ.” This is our mission and we are called to carry it to the world. Those who have given and volunteered here are the momentum we use to carry on. Will you join us today in impacting Muscatine with the knowledge of Jesus? When you do, you’ll never regret it.

Pastor Dave

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