16 Sep, 2011
No Greater Love!
Defying orders, hero Marine saved other troops
WASHINGTON (AP) — Defying orders and tempting fate, Marine corporal Dakota Meyer charged five times in a Humvee into heavy gunfire in the darkness of an Afghanistan valley to rescue comrades under attack from Taliban insurgents.
On Thursday, Meyer was presented with the Medal of Honor, the nation's highest military award, by President Barack Obama.
Meyer's courage during the six-hour ambush and firefight saved the lives of 36 people, both Americans and Afghans. He killed at least eight Taliban insurgents. Firing from a gun turret on top of the Humvee driven by a fellow Marine, he provided cover for his team, allowing many to escape likely death.
He was defying orders from his commanders, who told him to stay back. The kill zone, they said, was too dangerous. But the young corporal, just 21 years old at the time, knew his friends were trapped that early morning in September 2009.
"In Sgt. Dakota Meyer, we see the best of a generation that has served with distinction through a decade of war," Obama said during a ceremony in the East Room of the White House.
Meyer, later promoted to sergeant and now out of the Marines, is the third living recipient and the first Marine to be awarded the Medal of Honor for actions in Iraq or Afghanistan.
The modest, soft-spoken 23-year-old now lives in his home state of Kentucky, working construction in the tiny town of Greensburg.
Full Story and More Photos can be found at yahoo.com.
John 15:9-17 (ESV)
9 As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Abide in my love. 10 If you keep my commandments, you will abide in my love, just as I have kept my Father’s commandments and abide in his love. 11These things I have spoken to you, that my joy may be in you, and that your joy may be full.
12 "This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you. 13 Greater love has no one than this, that someone lay down his life for his friends. 14You are my friends if you do what I command you. 15 No longer do I call you servants, for the servant does not know what his master is doing; but I have called you friends, for all that I have heard from my Father I have made known to you. 16You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you that you should go and bear fruit and that your fruit should abide, so that whatever you ask the Father in my name, he may give it to you. 17These things I command you, so that you will love one another.
What does today's Gods Story scripture teach us about sacrifice?
Today's God's Story scripture reminds us that we are to love each other as Jesus loved us. How did Jesus love us? He loved us enough to give his own life for us. Dakota Meyer was willing to risk his own life for his comrades. His life was spared, but he put it on the line. He was willing to die. Not just once, but every time he went into heavy gunfire.
While most of us reading this DailyBide today won't face literal gunfire, we may face harmful words and actions. We may not ever have to literally to die for someone, but we will have many opportunities to express the sacrificial love of Jesus. Tyndale's Life Application Study Bible reminds us that we can do this by listening, helping, encouraging, and giving.
How can I connect today's God's Story scripture to My Life?
- Read John15 today to remind yourself of Jesus love for you and his desire for how we live and love. (Click Here to read it online.)
- Thank God for His sacrifice for you.
- Take a walk with Jesus sometime this weekend, just like the disciples did in John 15. Ask him to point out people in your life who need to experience His Love in more direct ways. Listen carefully! You might be surprised by what he has to say.
How can I connect Today's Story, My Story, and God's Story to Others?
Ask God today to make you aware of those friends around you who ...
- Need someone to listen to them.
- Need some form of help.
- Need someone to give them a word of encouragement.
- Need someone to give them time or assistance of some kind.
When you encounter these situations, act in sacrificial love then pray with and/or for your friends.
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