Honoring Our Heroes: A Veterans Day Reflection by Josh Read

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Honoring Our Heroes: A Veterans Day Reflection

Honoring Our Heroes: A Veterans Day Reflection

By Josh Read on Nov 11, 2025

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The freedom we enjoy today was not purchased cheaply. It was bought with courage, sacrifice, and the kind of love that runs toward danger instead of away from it. Veterans Day calls us to remember not only the battles fought on foreign soil, but the faith, character, and conviction of those who served. In honoring them, we are drawn to a deeper question: How does Scripture teach us to honor those who have given much?

Scripture: Romans 13:7, Mark 10:45, 1 Samuel 17:47, Ephesians 6:7, Isaiah 61:1, Philippians 1:3, John 15:13, Matthew 5:9, 1 Peter 5:2-3, Revelation 21:4 (view more) (view less)

Tags: Service, honor, Discipleship, gratitude, Veterans Day, Gratitude, Pastor Leadership, Honor (view more) (view less)

1. Preach Honor Biblically

Romans 13:7 commands us to “give honor to whom honor is due.” This Veterans Day, lead your congregation to see that biblical honor begins not with emotion, but with conviction.

Our veterans embody virtues that resonate deeply with the gospel, sacrifice, courage, and service. But if we only admire the human cost of freedom and fail to point people to the eternal freedom found in Christ, we have missed the greater story.

Remind your people that every act of earthly courage points to a divine reality: “For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve and to give His life as a ransom for many” (Mark 10:45). Jesus redefines greatness through servanthood.

Help your church see that we honor veterans not as idols of strength, but as images of Christlike sacrifice. Teach them to honor rightly by giving glory to the One who made all service meaningful.

2. Model Christlike Service

Pastor, your tone sets the example. Before you preach about honor, embody it.

Reach out to veterans in your congregation. Listen to their stories. Learn their names. Ask about their families. Then, when you stand to preach, speak with the weight of personal compassion, not distant formality.

Ephesians 6:7 calls us to “serve wholeheartedly, as if you were serving the Lord.” That verse applies to every believer and to us as shepherds. When we model humble service, our people will follow.

Encourage your congregation to see veterans not just as heroes to applaud, but as neighbors to love. Lead them in active gratitude, visiting, praying, and supporting those who quietly carry the scars of service.

3. Minister to the Wounded

Many veterans in your community bear invisible wounds like trauma, loss, or isolation. Some sit quietly in your pews, unsure whether the church sees them at all.

This Veterans Day, do more than acknowledge their sacrifice, offer them healing. Isaiah 61:1 declares that God “has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim freedom for the captives.”

That is the pastor’s calling.

Invite your congregation to become the hands and feet of Christ to those who have served. Start a veterans’ prayer group. Offer counseling referrals. Create moments of public recognition that lead to private restoration.

Remind your people that honoring veterans is not just about remembrance, it’s about redemption.

4. Call the Church to Ongoing Gratitude

Gratitude is not a holiday, it’s a habit.

As you preach, help your church understand that gratitude rooted in Christ changes posture, not just perspective. It transforms Veterans Day from a yearly salute into a daily lifestyle of service and compassion.

Philippians 1:3 says, “I thank my God every time I remember you.” Lead your people to cultivate that kind of gratitude, one that turns remembrance into prayer and appreciation into ministry.

Encourage them to see veterans as living parables of Jesus’ words: “Greater love has no one than this, that someone lay down his life for his friends” (John 15:13).

When gratitude becomes worship, remembrance becomes revival.

A Word to Pastors

This Sunday, as you stand before your congregation, many will bring both pride and pain, memories of loved ones lost, or wounds that still ache. Some will equate faith with patriotism; others may bristle at the blending of the two.

Lead them wisely.

Lift their eyes higher than flags and ceremonies. Point them to the cross. Teach them that the truest freedom was purchased not by soldiers on a battlefield, but by a Savior on a hill called Calvary.

Preach honor with humility. Teach gratitude with grace. Remind your people that to honor veterans rightly is to see Christ clearly, the One who laid down His life not for one nation, but for all.

Practical Next Steps

Preach Honor Biblically: Center your sermon around Romans 13:7 and Mark 10:45. Connect service to Christ’s sacrifice.
Create Space for Testimony: Invite a veteran to share their story in worship.
Offer Prayer and Healing: Pray publicly for veterans, but also offer follow-up ministry privately.
Model Ongoing Gratitude: Encourage year-round care—meals, visits, small group inclusion.
Anchor in the Gospel: Always lead from national gratitude to spiritual redemption.

A Prayer for Pastors

Lord,
As we approach Veterans Day, give us wisdom to lead Your people with truth and compassion.
Help us honor rightly, lifting hearts not merely to heroes, but to You.
Comfort every veteran who carries unseen pain.
Use our churches to bring healing where there is hurt, hope where there is despair, and Christ where there is confusion.
Teach us, as shepherds, to lead with humility and to serve with joy.
And may every act of honor reflect Your glory alone.
In Jesus’ name,
Amen.