Have you ever had one of those life defining moments that stay with you for decades?
One of mine is when a lay preacher, made this profound statement “ I have seen things that no man should have to see and I have come to understand that ‘but by the grace of God go I”. This carried great gravitas given he had been a POW in Changi prison during World War 2.
He then goes on to expand on how there can be such a fine line of being in the wrong place at the wrong time; having some evil befall you and knowing how you will respond when faced with that evil. It was like there was this deep understanding that we are all made of the same substance and are capable of great atrocities given the ‘right’ set of circumstances and conditions.
There was a great humility about the man, a deep understanding of grace – unmerited favour. If there ever had been any arrogance of youth that had long been extinguished and replaced by this enormous wisdom and gravitas.
What did I take away from that statement? What has that meant to me over the years?
Not to judge others. Not to be arrogant nor self-righteous for truly – ‘but by the grace of God go I’. It’s by God’s grace that I live in this country, in this time, amongst those who are near and dear to me. It’s by God’s grace that I can choose to be kind, to smile, to take that extra time to do or say whatever, to whomever comes across our path.
Tomorrow, as one of only seven surviving men in his battalion, this man will be honoured in the Melbourne Anzac March. We ‘dips our lid’ to you Ben West.
Enjoy your day with your comrades and family.