Michael-Grams: M-G: 12.10.13 // Earn This, Philippians 1:27a, JBP

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The backdrop of the 1998 movie Saving Private Ryan took place during the invasion of Normandy in WWII. After surviving a deadly rain of German artillery and machine gun fire from nests and bunkers during the assault on Omaha Beach, one of the five sectors of the Allied invasion of German-occupied France in the Normandy landings on June 6, 19441, Captain Miller received new orders only three days after D-Day coming from General Marshall to find a soldier somewhere in Normandy who had lost all three of his brothers in the war. He assembled seven soldiers to go with him on a mission to find one man, Private First Class James Francis Ryan, and get him safely back home.

After losing one of his men (Caparzo) along the way, Miller felt this way concerning Private Ryan.

Captain Miller: This Ryan better be worth it. He'd better go home and cure some disease or invent a longer-lasting light bulb or something. 'Cause the truth is, I wouldn't trade 10 Ryan’s for one Vecchio or one Caparzo.

After losing another man in assaulting a German machine gun position which was defending a damaged radar post, Miller and his men finally came across Ryan on the outskirts of the town of Ramelle. Once in Ramelle Ryan learned of the loss of his three brothers and of the orders coming from high up to return home immediately. He protested the thought of leaving the only brothers he had left there at Ramelle, asking Miller if he would tell his mother the reason for not returning home. Ryan was determined not to leave his post. So, Miller decided to stay in Ramelle with little manpower and resources to defend a bridge of strategic importance to the Germans spanning the Merderet River.

During the defense of the bridge, Miller loses three more of his men to German infantry and armor. In spite of the heavy casualties inflicted upon the Germans, it looked as if the enemy was going to overtake the bridge after all when a Tiger tank began crossing it. Shot and mortally wounded, Miller attempted to blow up the bridge to no avail. Dying he sat down and drew his .45 caliber pistol and started shooting one bullet at a time at the Tiger tank heading towards him when an American P51Mustang flew over and destroyed the tank; the Germans were routed by the arrival of American reinforcements of air power, infantry, and M4 Sherman tanks.

As Miller sat there dying, Ryan approached Miller.

Captain Miller: [weakly mutters something]

Private Ryan: [leans in closer] What, sir?

Captain Miller: James, earn this… earn it.

Miller died.

The scene shifted many years later to the present day where we see an elderly Ryan standing in front of Miller’s grave at the Normandy American Cemetery and Memorial at Omaha Beach, Colleville-sur-Mer, France with his family in the background.

Ryan [looking at the headstone of Captain John H Miller]: My family is with me today. They wanted to come with me. To be honest with you, I wasn't sure how I'd feel coming back here. Every day I think about what you said to me that day on the bridge. I tried to live my life the best that I could. I hope that was enough. I hope that, at least in your eyes, I've earned what all of you have done for me.

Ryan's Wife: [approaching Ryan] James?

Ryan's Wife: [looking at headstone] Captain John H Miller.

Ryan: Tell me I have led a good life.

Ryan's Wife: What?

Ryan: Tell me I'm a good man.

Ryan's Wife: You are [walks away]

Ryan: [with tears in his eyes stands back and salutes Miller’s grave]

The landings on the beaches of Normandy were historical, but Miller and Ryan were fictionalized characters, but the storyline was powerful and illustrated to some extent of Jesus’ mission to earth to redeem us from the penalty of sin to get us to heaven and our response to living for Him because of His great personal sacrifice to save us.

Jesus came to earth to seek and to save that which was lost (Lk 19:10). When He reached the cross and said, “It was finished,” the mission was over. He died, but arose again on the third day victoriously; forty days later He ascended to heaven to the Father. Jesus didn’t say along the way when things started getting rough, “This Ryan better be worth it” for we were all unworthy of life eternal and only worthy of death, to be separated from the Father in Hell. There was nothing in us, not even a “spark of Divinity” worth saving. Had not Jesus taken on the mission to save us, we would all die in our sins (Isa 53:6; 64:6; Rom 3:10-18; 5:8; Eph 2:1-2; Titus 3:3; 1 Pet 3:18). It was purely unmerited favor in the face of deserved wrath on the part of God to save us from destruction.

Ryan lived the rest of his life with the concern that his life would not be worthy of those six men who have lost their lives in order to save his – “James, earn this… earn it.”It must have resonated in his mind a million times. Oh, what a powerful scene at the bridge over the Merderet River! I have projected my life into Ryan’s receiving the last command Miller ever made on the bridge in Romelle so many times, but rather than gazing upon a tombstone, I looked up at the cross, and thought of Miller’s words as if they were coming from the very mouth of Jesus, “Michael, earn this…earn it” (Gal 2:20); then He died. I am often crushed by the weight of wasted opportunities, having trouble forgiving what has been forgiven. I so desperately want to hear Jesus say to me one day, “Well done” (Mt 25:23) in spite of my feeble attempts to serve and to live for Him. Is that how you feel?

Paul told the believers of Philippi, “But whatever happens, make sure that your everyday life is worthy [emphasis mine] of the Gospel of Christ” Php 1:27, JBP).

The Greek word for the adverb “worthy” is axíōs. Our English word axiom comes from this word. Now what is interesting to me is how this adverb relates to the last words of Captain Miller, “… earn this… earn it;” Miller wanted Ryan to live a life worthy of what took place that day to bring him home.

When axíōs is used in the genitive case, expressing ownership, as here in Philippians, it means “having the weight of (weighing as much as) another thing.”2 It means having equal weight or value. Ryan’s manner of life is to correspond to the same weight and value of what it took to get him back home. Ryan and the others didn’t want to die for nothing but for something that was worthy of dying for. They wanted their death not to be meaningless but meaningful. Miller was saying to Ryan, “Make your life worth dying for.”

We are to make our life worthy in light of the Gospel, the good news that Jesus died for us. We are to honor God in all that we do and bring glory to Him. In so doing we live a life worthy of what it took to get us to heaven. We are to make our life weigh, ounce for ounce, pound for pound, as much as the gospel we profess to believe. What gives weight to our proclamation of the Gospel is that our testimony is of equal weight. In other words, our talk matches our walk. The power of our walk corresponds to the power of the Gospel showing to the world that Christ did not die in vain through our lifestyle.

Since the verb is in the middle voice, the subject is acting upon itself. The believers at Philippi are exhorted to act upon themselves in recognizing and carrying out their duties with respect to their citizenship in heaven. “Let your conduct be” is also in the present tense, and the mood is in the imperative or commanded. Not only is our lifestyle, manner of life, and conduct commanded to be worthy (of equal weight) of the Good News of Christ, but is expected to be continual, without ending in this life!

Might you relate to these words as you look to the cross today and every day for the rest of your lives,

Me: [looking at the cross] Every day I think about what You said to me on that day at the cross. I tried to live my life the best that I could. I hope that was enough, at least in Your eyes, that I have walked worthy of Your great sacrifice.

Beloved, imagine Jesus speaking to you from the cross, “Earn this… earn it." Not for salvation but for faithful service to Him in light of His great sacrifice for us. General Patton once said, “It is better to fight for something than to live for nothing.” May we live a life worthy, as much as, of His great sacrifice on Calvary until we safely arrive home! <><