Beyond The Call Of Duty

When danger and death are present, people will sometimes revert back to their basic instinct of survival. There are those, however, that will protect their comrades no matter what the situation and no matter what the cost. They do not think about themselves in the middle of combat. They think of the safety of others. People like this exist everywhere, but they are given exceptional honor in the United States Military.

People who sacrifice for others represent the ideals of what America stands for, and we recognize these people with the Congressional Medal of Honor. The Medal of Honor is the greatest award that any soldier can receive for an act of heroism. The Medal is not given to people who kill many enemies. It is given to those who protect their comrades and those around them. These people are not focused on earning fame for themselves; they work for the greater safety of their group.

Selflessness is a trait found in all Medal of Honor winners. I believe this single trait is what uniquely determines a Medal of Honor winner. There are other traits such as pride and honor that can be found in a Medal of Honor recipient, but these can be quite common in the armed forces.

To risk your life for someone shows your ultimate and selfless concern for them. Many say or want to believe they are capable of such selfless acts, but those are just idle thoughts and words until the time calls for action. Medal of Honor Recipients have all willingly risked their lives for others, proving they are capable of such incredible deeds.

After WWII, over half of all Medal of Honor recipients have died in combat from their heroic actions. These medals were given to those who had committed selfless acts of protecting others, such as jumping on a live grenade to save others. There is so little time to react to a grenade landing next to you.

It proves how automatic and pre-programmed their selfless instincts are as a part of their character. History will remember people like these, who risked or lost their lives to protect others. These actions inspire others. We become more understanding and more caring due to these people. In the end, it brings humanity closer together as a whole and separates us from the animals.

First, let’s consider what the disciples were asking:

I. The Request of the Servants

a. Their reasoning

There is some doubt as to a connection between the disciples request in this section of Scripture dealing with forgiving those who have sinned against because of the fact that it does not take faith to forgive someone, it takes a willing heart and a decision to forgive those who have sinned against us. More likely, and this is the opinion of most commentators that their request is in response to what happened in Matthew 17:14-21 where the disciples failed to cast the devil out of the child and the father brought his son to Jesus. Jesus healed the child and then spoke of the disciple’s faithlessness and unbelief.

b. Their rebuke

Perhaps they figured that it was by faith that you really got things done in Jesus’ kingdom, and so to be a mover and shaker there they needed more of whatever Jesus had-like a super-charged V-8 instead of a standard four cylinder engine. In verse 6 Jesus seems to be saying that if you even have the faith of a “grain of mustard seed” which is one of the smallest of seeds, you could forgive “seven times seventy sins!” But that is not His point as we can see from what He says after verse 6. Faith doesn’t seem to be the issue for the Lord but service is!