Articles
No One Left Behind
The U.S. maintains a recovery operation in Hanoi, Vietnam called JPAC (Joint POW/MIA Accounting Command). This group researches possible sites for remains of missing servicemen and sends recovery teams to retrieve them.
The dedication to this mission is nothing short of astounding. The excavation team includes 10-14 personnel plus "linguist, medic, life-support technician, forensic photographer, explosive-ordinance disposal technician and several mortuary affairs specialists. Also, up to 100 local laborers are hired to help in the excavation" (NOVEC Cooperative Living magazine, June 2011, p. 5).
Application: Why do you think so much effort is invested in recovering the remains of dead soldiers? When we think of the sacrifices made by these men who died on the other side of the globe from their homeland, and we consider the grief and "lack of closure" of their families, we understand the importance of such efforts. But consider the spiritual parallel: To what extent should we (or do we) go to reclaim lost souls? And does it not take a variety of cooperative efforts to achieve this?
Too often we may focus only on the "local evangelist" as the spearhead of seeking and saving the lost, but the reality is that it takes the efforts of all working in various capacities to save as many as possible. The "mechanics" of evangelism are varied: sermons, classes (public and private), funding, acts of service, establishing caring relationships, advertising, casual conversations, dispensing literature/ CDs and other media of teaching, maintaining godly influence, etc. These are all part of this "search and rescue" process.
The article continues: "The field work is dangerous. The teams have on occasion been shot at and mortared. In 2001, a recovery helicopter crashed, killing 16 team members. ... The jungles are rife with venomous snakes, Bengal tigers, panthers, rock apes (they throw rocks at you), poisonous plants, a myriad of biting and disease-bearing insects, parasites, unexploded ordinance from multiple wars, raging rivers, crumbling cliffs, and brutal heat and humidity.
"The teams' preferred mode of transportation is helicopter, but this is not always possible. The teams travel with up to 10,000 pounds of survival and excavation equipment. Some sites are so extremely remote ... that the teams have to walk in for many miles, rappel off cliffs, ford rivers and hike over mountains. In underwater recoveries, teams have to scuba dive in water [that ] sharks and sea snakes are known to inhabit.
"Yes, a very dangerous job. But you won't find a more dedicated group of Americans anywhere. Theirs is a noble path. No American is forgotten; no American will be left behind forever" (ibid, pp. 5-6).
Application: Doesn’t that spark your patriotic pride? But as important as the JPAC work is, the truth is that our mission in saving souls is vastly more critical.
First, JPAC is a "recovery" mission; ours is a "rescue" mission. That means that we have opportunity through the gospel to impart life; all that JPAC can do is recover remains for a proper burial. Secondly, eternity hangs in the balance for lost souls, and that places a premium on any effort made to help pull just one person back from the brink.
Isn’t this part of the meaning of Jesus' words in Matt. 11:11? "Assuredly, I say to you, among those born of women there has not risen one greater than John the Baptist; but he who is least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he." The JPAC work, which is done in a temporal context, surely challenges our dedication in a spiritual one. What dangers, discomforts and sacrifices are we willing to endure to rescue the lost?
Paul had the spiritual equivalent of JPAC dedication: "For though I am free from all men, I have made myself a servant to all, that I might win the more. ... I have become all things to all men, that I might by all means save some. Now this I do for the gospel’s sake" (I Cor. 9:19, 22-23; II Cor. 11:24-28). And how. Paul’s energy, devotion, love for the lost, willingness to endure hardship -- along with the empowering resources of God -- are still bearing fruit two millennia later.
So, the task is before us: Is it clearly defined in our minds? Do we have a plan of action? But more importantly: Have we truly bought in to the objective? In other words, to paraphrase Stephen Rouse’s recent sermon, have we seriously answered the question: "What is a soul worth?"
