The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. But thanks be to God! He gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. Therefore, my dear brothers and sisters, stand firm. Let nothing move you. Always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord, because you know that your labour in the Lord is not in vain.
1 Corinthians 15.56-58

 

Victories often require battles and battles often require struggles, or as the wartime Prime Minister Winston Churchill put it during one of the darkest hours of the Second World War, “I have nothing to offer but blood, toil, tears and sweat.” This was part his first speech as Prime Minister, given to the House of Commons on 13 May 1940. Nearly 5 years later, on 8 May 1945 Victory in Europe was declared. For most of us, it is impossible to appreciate what it was like to live through those years, but we must always remember to be thankful to those who did. Those in the armed forces, those who stayed at home to care for others, those who worked in offices, factories, in the fields and on the boats transporting food and materials to our island nation. For our safety, security and provision we depend on many who remain unseen and sometimes forgotten. We live today on the foundation that they worked so hard to build, whose sacrifice (in so many ways) and determination to overcome contributed to the Allied Nations being able to declare victory in Europe, which finally arrived 80 years ago this week, and in Japan three months later. Whatever your struggle is today, with the hope and strength of the risen Jesus Christ within us, we can be inspired by the closing words of Churchill in that same speech, “But I take up my task with buoyancy and hope. I feel sure that our cause will not be suffered to fail among men. At this time I feel entitled to claim the aid of all, and I say, come then, let us go forward together with our united strength.”

 

Rev’d Mark Anderson