THE LAST RIVER MILE

On Memorial Day I happened to be talking with someone who is a friend and neighbor. I’ve known him over six years, but I discovered something new that day. His father was killed in action near the end of the Second World War. Our friend’s dad had sent his family a letter saying that he was looking forward to being home by Christmas, 1944. He didn’t make it, dying in battle in early December of that year. Our neighbor was maybe nine or ten years old when this happened. In addition to unspeakable grief, his father’s death meant financial hardship to his mother and all the family.

Our friend carries a good bit of this pain to this day. I could see it and sense it. I felt acutely the fact that my dad came home from war (Korean Conflict) but his did not. Just meant to be a casual Memorial Day conversation, it turned into a kind of sacred moment. I learned something valuable and painful about him, and I experienced it as a humbling gift

Though we never talk about it, it’s safe to say that our neighbor and I are at significantly different points politically, theologically, philosophically, and probably many other ways. Yet I was reminded in that moment that even and especially in these intensely polarizing times, everyone – everyone – has a back-story. This includes the ones with whom we disagree most intensely and whom we are most tempted to vilify and demonize. Someone rejoices when that person was born. That person’s death will leave a hole in someone’s heart.

Maybe it’s not about all of us being in total agreement. Maybe it’s more about discovery and caring enough to learn someone’s back-story. This takes more effort than simply dismissing someone as one of “those” people. It requires more listening and more open-ended questions than proclamations and arguments.

For Jesus-followers, the bottom line is this: You and I will never – never – encounter someone who has not been declared worthy of the life, death, resurrection, and promised return of the Son of the living God. Every person has a back-story, and every person and back-story matters to God.

I’ll see you around the next bend in the river.