The town falls silent. A chill November breeze lifts the poppies on the cenotaph. A cornet cries the Last Post on the high street. Two minutes. No traffic. No chatter. Only breath.
I look out from my place in the band and notice an elderly woman gripping a photograph. Her knuckles are white. Her freedom costs someone everything. Moments like that make the air heavy. They remind us that freedom was bought with blood. The peace was planted in grief. Yet Jesus once told another story about entrusted treasure and what we do with it.
My name’s Captain Rob Westwood-Payne of The Salvation Army, and this is the Battle Drill Daily Devotional.
Jesus concludes his story in Matthew chapter 25, verse 21 with this verse: “Well done, my good and faithful servant.” That praise was given only to those who did something with what they were given, not to those who buried it. Two servants in Jesus’ story invested and grew their master’s gift. One buried his. When the master returned, he celebrated faithfulness, not safety.
That’s rather confronting on Remembrance Sunday, isn’t it? What have we done with what was won? With our time, with our freedom and with our faith? Do we do more than simply remember? Or do we keep a tidy silence and then bury our compassion in the ground?
Paul wrote to the Galatians, “Use your freedom to serve one another in love.” Galatians chapter 5, verse 13. Freedom is a trust, and so is faith. So is time. If we use them well, God multiplies them. If we hoard them, they decay. Kingdom life grows where it’s planted, not where it’s hidden.
Now you might think, “I’m only one person. What difference can I make?” Listen, the servants didn’t change the whole economy. They simply worked with what was in their hands. That’s you. That’s me. Small, faithful and brave.
In 2014, the Tower of London filled its moat with 888,246 ceramic poppies. Each one a British life lost in the Great War. Beauty with weight. A river of red that flowed into the nation’s conscience. We honour them best when we turn memory into mercy, when we turn remembrance into responsibility.
Freedom is like a seed. It’s meant to be sown, not stored. Leave it in the packet and it stays pretty but pointless. Plant it, risk it even, and it multiplies into life for others. Faith works the same way, and so does time.
Picture your high street this past week. A poppy seller packs away the tin. A teenager in uniform helps an older neighbour across the road. A shopkeeper notices the rough sleeper outside and brings a hot drink. None of it trends, but all of it counts.
Jesus said, “Let your good deeds shine out for all to see, so that everyone will praise your heavenly Father.” Matthew chapter 5, verse 16.
So here’s your step for today, this Remembrance Sunday. Choose one person to serve, practically, quietly and promptly. Write their name down right now. Before you sleep, do the thing: a call or text, a meal, a lift or a prayer at the door. Use your freedom to love. Because if you’re too busy for God and neighbour, then you’re too busy. Full stop. Don’t bury what God gave you. Invest it in people Jesus loves.
The truth is that remembrance is hollow without response. The silence after the Last Post must echo in our actions, in every meal shared, in every mercy given and in every act of grace freely offered.
Let’s pray together.
Lord Jesus, thank you for those who gave their lives so that we could live in freedom. Thank you for your cross and resurrection, our deeper freedom. Today, give me courage to invest what you’ve entrusted: time, freedom and faith. Show me who to serve and help me do it with joy. Amen.
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