Bring a Brother Back, July 8 2011

Bring a Brother Back

Reading: James 5:19-20, 19My brothers, if one of you should wander from the truth and someone should bring him back, 20remember this: Whoever turns a sinner from the error of his way will save him from death and cover over a multitude of sins.

The story is told, “Sgt. John Chapman had been driven once from the battlefield, but he went right back. Shortly before dawn on Monday, March 4, the Chinook helicopter carrying Chapman and a small reconnaissance team came under heavy fire as it tried to land high in the Afghan mountains. Riddled with bullets, the chopper limped to a safe landing zone. Chapman and his team jumped into a second chopper and returned to base, but only to regroup. Soon they were flying back into danger to recover the body of a Navy Seal, Petty Officer Neil Roberts, who had fallen from the chopper in the first landing attempt. The team, a half dozen of America’s toughest Special Operators, jumped out of the plane into a hail of bullets. Chapman laid down covering fire as his buddies tried to set up a defensive position behind some rocks. As he blasted away at the enemy, he was shot several times in the chest. He died fighting so hi comrades would live. Before the day was done, five more of his comrades would perish. American soldiers do not abandon their dead and wounded on the battlefield. For Special Operators, the elite soldiers chosen to play the riskiest roles in combat, the warrior’s code is a question of honor. For Eugene Chapman, John’s father, the mantra is a source of pride and solace. “It’s a given. You do not leave your comrades behind,” Chapman told Newsweek.” We, as soldiers of the cross, have an even greater cause to never leave a man behind. We must take time for each other to make sure that our fellow Band of Brothers are not being left behind. The difference is… on the physical battlefield… you can see when they’re being left behind; on the spiritual battlefield… you can only “see” what you make an effort to find out.

Do you know of a brother that seems to be left behind, if so, who?

How can you go out of your way, today, to help bring him back?
REVIEW

How were you able to reach out and help a fellow brother from being left behind?

What was the reaction and how did this impact you and your brother?