“And
He
died
for
all,
that
they
who
live
should
no
longer
live
for
themselves,
but
for
Him
who
died
and
rose
again on their behalf” (2 Cor. 5:15).
Giving One’s Life to the One Who Gave Life
In
the
opening
scene
of
the
film,
Saving
Private
Ryan
,
a
World
War
II
veteran
trudges
the
tree-lined
path
around
the
American
military
cemetery
at
Normandy
in
France.
His
family
follows
at
a
close
but
respectful
distance.
As
is
shortly
revealed,
this
old
soldier
is
on
a
mission
to
locate
the
grave
of
a
fallen
comrade.
When
he
reaches
it,
he
collapses
and
weeps.
In
the
film’s
closing
scene,
he
speaks
to
the
grave’s
occupant,
saying,
“I’ve
tried
my
best
to
live
a
good
life.”
When
he
stands,
he
turns
to
his
wife
and
says,
“Tell
me
I’ve
lived
a
good
life.
Tell
me
I’m
a
good
man.”
Those
who
have
watched
the
intervening
scenes
know
what
he
means.
Almost
an
entire
squad
of
soldiers
sent
to
locate,
retrieve,
and
save
him
had
been
killed
in
the
process.
Just
before
he
succumbs
to
his
wounds,
the
captain
commanding
the
mission
tells
Private
Ryan
to
“earn
it.”
As
a
result,
Ryan
has
spent
the
past
fifty
years
of
his
life
trying
his
best
to
do
just
that.
He
has
even
brought
his
very
decent-looking
family
with
him,
as
if
to
prove
it.
Ryan
had
been
living
his
life
for
the
one
who
gave
his
life
that
Ryan
might
live.
The
whole
scene
is
a
dramatic
display
and
honoring
of
the
fact
that,
to
a
sensitive
person,
a
life
given
for
another
requires
the
beneficiary
to
give
his
life to the one who died for him. A sacrifice of death calls for a sacrifice of life.
Yet,
in
this
cemetery
scene,
there
is
an
irony
which
almost
certainly
eludes
those
who
made
and
viewed
the
film.
When
Ryan
falls
at
the
grave
of
the
soldier
who
died
for
him
and
speaks
to
him,
trying
to
assure
him
that
he
has
lived
so
as
to
“earn”
the
life
he
has
been
given
for
the
one
given
for
him,
it
is
actually
a
white
marble
cross
before
which
he
bows.
Nevertheless,
Ryan,
and
probably
the
viewers,
are
oblivious
to
its
significance.
To
them,
it
is
nothing
more than a marker holding the name of the soldier buried there.
However,
that
cross
also
symbolizes
a
giving
of
life,
and
an
even
greater
one.
This
greater
giving
of
life
calls
for
a
lesser
giving
of
life
on
the
part
of
the
one
who
has
benefitted
from
the
life
given
for
him.
Ryan
bows
at
the
cross
and
kneels
on
the
grave,
while
tearfully
expressing
his
hope
that
he
has
honored,
with
a
life
well-lived,
the
one
whose
remains
lie
therein.
Yet,
he
shows
no
recognition
of
the
One
who
gave
His
life
for
him
on
the
cross
and
emerged
from
His
grave
that
he,
and
everyone,
as
Christ
Himself
put
it,
“might
have
life,
and
might
have
it
abundantly”
(Jn.
10:10).
Furthermore,
while
Ryan
had
been
told
perhaps
fifty
years
earlier
to
“earn”
the
sacrifice
made
for
him,
what
Jesus
did
in
dying
for
others
is
not
something
they
can
ever
earn
(Eph.
2:8,9).
Instead,
it
is
a
gift,
for
which
one
gives
his
life,
though
the
value
of
his
gift
never
matches
the
value
of
the
gift
he
received
from
Christ.
Lives
lived
for
Christ
are,
at
best,
no
more than “thank-you” notes for the gift received.
Jesus
gave
life
by
giving
His
life
on
the
cross.
His
blood
was
“poured
out
for
many
for
forgiveness
of
sins”
(Matt.
26:28).
Yet,
because
people
often
view
sin
as
something
abstract
—
as
something
having
little
bearing
on
their
daily
lives
and
none
on
their
future
—
the
gift
of
Christ’s
life
on
the
cross
is
not
valuable
to
them.
Instead,
they
do
not
conceive
of
it
(and
hell)
as
something
from which they need to be saved. So, it is ignored and treated with contempt.
None
“who
has
trampled
under
foot
the
Son
of
God
and
has
regarded
as
unclean
the
blood
of
the
covenant
by
which
he
was
sanctified”
(Heb.
10:29)
will
ever
be
saved.
Rather,
to
have
the
life
Christ
died
to
give
him,
he
must
give
to
Christ
his
own
life,
unworthy
and
inadequate
though
it
is.
Paul
knew
this,
for
he
said,
“…
It
is
no
longer
I
who
live,
but
Christ
lives
in
me;
and
the
life
which
I
now
live
in
the
flesh
I
live
by
faith
in
the
Son
of
God,
who
loved
me,
and
delivered Himself up for me” (Gal. 2:20).
“And
He
died
for
all,
that
they
who
live
should
no
longer
live
for
themselves,
but
for
Him
who
died
and
rose
again
on
their behalf” (2 Cor. 5:15).
Giving One’s Life to the One Who Gave Life
In
the
opening
scene
of
the
film,
Saving
Private
Ryan
,
a
World
War
II
veteran
trudges
the
tree-lined
path
around
the
American
military
cemetery
at
Normandy
in
France.
His
family
follows
at
a
close
but
respectful
distance.
As
is
shortly
revealed,
this
old
soldier
is
on
a
mission
to
locate
the
grave
of
a
fallen
comrade.
When
he
reaches
it,
he
collapses
and
weeps.
In
the
film’s
closing
scene,
he
speaks
to
the
grave’s
occupant,
saying,
“I’ve
tried
my
best
to
live
a
good
life.”
When
he
stands,
he
turns
to
his
wife
and
says,
“Tell
me
I’ve
lived
a
good
life.
Tell
me
I’m
a
good
man.”
Those
who
have
watched
the
intervening
scenes
know
what
he
means.
Almost
an
entire
squad
of
soldiers
sent
to
locate,
retrieve,
and
save
him
had
been
killed
in
the
process.
Just
before
he
succumbs
to
his
wounds,
the
captain
commanding
the
mission
tells
Private
Ryan
to
“earn
it.”
As
a
result,
Ryan
has
spent
the
past
fifty
years
of
his
life
trying
his
best
to
do
just
that.
He
has
even
brought
his
very
decent-looking
family
with
him,
as
if
to
prove
it.
Ryan
had
been
living
his
life
for
the
one
who
gave
his
life
that
Ryan
might
live.
The
whole
scene
is
a
dramatic
display
and
honoring
of
the
fact
that,
to
a
sensitive
person,
a
life
given
for
another
requires
the
beneficiary
to
give
his
life
to
the
one
who
died
for
him.
A
sacrifice
of
death
calls for a sacrifice of life.
Yet,
in
this
cemetery
scene,
there
is
an
irony
which
almost
certainly
eludes
those
who
made
and
viewed
the
film.
When
Ryan
falls
at
the
grave
of
the
soldier
who
died
for
him
and
speaks
to
him,
trying
to
assure
him
that
he
has
lived
so
as
to
“earn”
the
life
he
has
been
given
for
the
one
given
for
him,
it
is
actually
a
white
marble
cross
before
which
he
bows.
Nevertheless,
Ryan,
and
probably
the
viewers,
are
oblivious
to
its
significance.
To
them,
it
is
nothing
more
than
a
marker
holding
the
name
of
the
soldier
buried there.
However,
that
cross
also
symbolizes
a
giving
of
life,
and
an
even
greater
one.
This
greater
giving
of
life
calls
for
a
lesser
giving
of
life
on
the
part
of
the
one
who
has
benefitted
from
the
life
given
for
him.
Ryan
bows
at
the
cross
and
kneels
on
the
grave,
while
tearfully
expressing
his
hope
that
he
has
honored,
with
a
life
well-lived,
the
one
whose
remains
lie
therein.
Yet,
he
shows
no
recognition
of
the
One
who
gave
His
life
for
him
on
the
cross
and
emerged
from
His
grave
that
he,
and
everyone,
as
Christ
Himself
put
it,
“might
have
life,
and
might
have
it
abundantly”
(Jn.
10:10).
Furthermore,
while
Ryan
had
been
told
perhaps
fifty
years
earlier
to
“earn”
the
sacrifice
made
for
him,
what
Jesus
did
in
dying
for
others
is
not
something
they
can
ever
earn
(Eph.
2:8,9).
Instead,
it
is
a
gift,
for
which
one
gives
his
life,
though
the
value
of
his
gift
never
matches
the
value
of
the
gift
he
received
from
Christ.
Lives
lived
for
Christ
are,
at
best,
no
more than “thank-you” notes for the gift received.
Jesus
gave
life
by
giving
His
life
on
the
cross.
His
blood
was
“poured
out
for
many
for
forgiveness
of
sins”
(Matt.
26:28).
Yet,
because
people
often
view
sin
as
something
abstract
—
as
something
having
little
bearing
on
their
daily
lives
and
none
on
their
future
—
the
gift
of
Christ’s
life
on
the
cross
is
not
valuable
to
them.
Instead,
they
do
not
conceive
of
it
(and
hell)
as
something
from
which
they
need
to
be
saved.
So,
it
is
ignored and treated with contempt.
None
“who
has
trampled
under
foot
the
Son
of
God
and
has
regarded
as
unclean
the
blood
of
the
covenant
by
which
he
was
sanctified”
(Heb.
10:29)
will
ever
be
saved.
Rather,
to
have
the
life
Christ
died
to
give
him,
he
must
give
to
Christ
his
own
life,
unworthy
and
inadequate
though
it
is.
Paul
knew
this,
for
he
said,
“…
It
is
no
longer
I
who
live,
but
Christ
lives
in
me;
and
the
life
which
I
now
live
in
the
flesh
I
live
by
faith
in
the
Son
of
God,
who
loved
me,
and
delivered
Himself up for me” (Gal. 2:20).
