The Daily Grace - A Letter from the Battlefield

For more than two decades, Andrew Carroll has been urging people not to throw away the letters written by family members or friends during a time of war. Carroll, director of the Center of American War Letters at Chapman University in California, considers them an irreplaceable link to tie families together and open a door of understanding. "Younger generations are reading these letters", Carroll says, "and asking questions and saying, 'Now I understand what you endured, what you sacrificed'. "

When the apostle Paul was imprisoned in Rome and knew his life would soon end, he wrote a letter to a young man whom he considered a "son in the faith", Timothy. Like a soldier on the battlefield, Paul opened his heart to him: "The time for my departure is near. I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. Now, there is in store for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will award to me on that day - and not only to me but also to all who have longed for his appearing" (2 Tim. 4:6-8). When we read the letters in the Bible that the heroes of the Christian faith have left for us and grasp what they endured because of their love for Christ, we gain the courage to follow their example and to stand strong for those who come after us. Run the race with eternity in view.