Remembering 75 Years Ago Today

"December 7 - a day that will live in infamy."  That is how President Franklin Roosevelt described this day seventy-five years ago.  What had begun as a quiet Sunday at Pearl Harbor soon became a scene of death and destruction as squadron after squadron of Japanese fighter planes attacked and bombed the U.S. Naval fleet that was anchored there and the Army Air Corp planes hangared at nearby Hickam Field.  Over two thousand soldiers, sailors, and airmen died that day, some of whom are still entombed within the ship that they were stationed upon.  Not since the British invasion of our country in 1812 had our nation experienced an attack by a foreign enemy upon its shores.  The consequences of this Japanese attack were swift with the United States Congress declaring war upon both Germany and Japan just days afterwards.  America was now at war.  Young men enlisted to join the fight against America's enemies in Europe and in Asia.  America had not been called upon to fight a war on two battle fronts since the days of the American Civil War.  America's factories began to turn out war materials.  People began united with the one goal of winning this war.  The war on both fronts was a slugfest with devastating casualties on both sides.  Yet, the American soldier, sailor, and airman prevailed. 


I just finished reading a remarkable book titled, "The Killing of the Far East."  It is another in a series of "Killing" books written by Bill O'Reilly and Martin Dugan.  Within the pages of this book, the authors relate the story of the development of the atomic bomb and explain why it was used as an instrument of last resort to force the Japanese into an unconditional surrender.  The book does not avoid the awful pictures of the devastation those bombs wrecked upon Hiroshima and Nagasaki - the details are graphic; the images stagger our imaginations.  Yet the authors also do not avoid the conflicted emotions of President Truman and General MacArthur over such a plan.  The dropping of the atomic bomb indeed shortened the war and, as a result, saved many American and Japanese lives.  And, gratefully, it was America who developed the atomic bomb first; we know the Germans were working on creating a nuclear device as the war in Europe was winding down. 


Only two atomic bombs have ever been unleashed against an enemy nation - both occurring in August 1945.  Would some nation dare to use even more powerful bombs today?  Some would say that any sane nation would not, but, perhaps that might have been the thinking in 1945.   But what about a rogue nation like North Korea or Iran; would they dare to use such an instrument of destruction?  One would hope not.  What was to America's advantage in 1945 - no other nation had a nuclear weapon - is no longer an advantage today with nearly a dozen nations possessing nuclear capabilities.  So, perhaps there might be more caution exercised before the nuclear option would be exercised.  One would certainly hope.


Seventy-five years ago today, our nation entered into a new era.  Yes, the War was won, but a lasting peace as a result of that War has never been achieved.  The "wars and rumors of war" that Jesus related to His disciples there on Olivet's Hill, have been the daily reality in our lifetimes.  In fact, we have seen an escalation in those "wars and rumors of war."  America's confidence in World War II was in its military superiority which did prevail.  But where is our confidence today?  Where is your confidence?  Yes, I am grateful for a strong military and I am hopeful that a President Trump will strengthen our military even more.  But my ultimate confidence can best be expressed with these words from the Psalmist David: "Some trust in chariots and some in horses (horses and chariots represented the military might of the ancient world), but we trust in the name of the LORD our God" (Psalm 20:7). 


Jesus Christ came that first Christmas to offer us a new hope, a new confidence, a new purpose for life.  Yes, my confidence is in Him because I know that He has all things under His authority.  Christmas is the reminder that this is His Story.  How wonderful it is to know the Christ of Christmas.