Vicksburg

Often, when we are driving down the road, I will see an old barn or house, dilapidated and long unused, and I think “what if those walls could talk!” I wonder what we would learn about the lives lived there, the hopes and dreams that were discussed, the hopes and dreams that were dashed, the laughter of children that rang through the halls, the cries of delight at holidays … what if those walls could talk!

While visiting Vicksburg, Mississippi, we stopped at the Court Square in downtown. There we saw this plaque which gave the history of the town and its courthouse. It was as if the walls did talk, at least in very brief terms.

The plaque reads:

Court Square

When Rev. Newet Vick founded Vicksburg in 1819, he designated this city block as a public square, and after the city was incorporated and became the county seat in 1825, a court house was built on the site: it burned in 1856 and the present structure was erected. It was here that federal soldiers lowered the confederate flag and raised the union banner on July 4, 1863, and Gen. U. S. Grant reviewed his victorious army. Many famous Americans have spoken on Court Square, including Zachary Taylor, William McKinley, Booker T. Washington, and Theodore Roosevelt. The building was abandoned as a court house in 1939 and became a museum on June 3, 1948, under the leadership of Mrs. Eva Whitaker Davis and the Vicksburg and Warren County Historical Society.

Court Square, clearly, was pivotal to the community and many significant events occurred there throughout the 100 years of its history. Now the courthouse is a museum where people, like us, can come and see detailed information about what occurred in the area throughout the years.

What if the walls could talk! The monument gives us some insight into what the walls of the courthouse might say, but not everything is provided there. It is just a sample of the highlights.

The writer of Ecclesiastes talks about the variety of events in one’s life and then warns that we should enjoy those things that God gives us, but we should be aware that there will be a judgment.

“So if a person lives many years, let him rejoice in them all; but let him remember that the days of darkness will be many. All that comes is vanity. Rejoice, O young man, in your youth, and let your heart cheer you in the days of your youth. Walk in the ways of your heart and the sight of your eyes. But know that for all these things God will bring you into judgment.”

Ecclesiastes 11:8-9

Jesus said:

“I tell you, on the day of judgment people will give account for every careless word they speak,”

Matthew 12:36

Some translations of this verse change the word “careless” to “idle” or “empty”. The meaning is the same, and it is sobering. We will not hear the highlights of our lives. Oh no, instead we will hear every careless word that we say … they all will be brought before us when we are being judged before our holy God. Words that we say in anger, words that we say in jest but which cut like knives, words that we say flippantly without seeing the pain inflicted by the harsh tone, words that we say just to sound important, words spoken about others in the stillness of our home … all the words we speak will be splayed out before God on that day.

Then, the walls will talk! Nothing will be hidden … and we will be ashamed.

Praise our Lord and Savior that for those who believe in Jesus through faith in His Word will be covered by His righteousness. Jesus will, in effect, stand in front of us before God and will blot out those hurtful, wasted words so that we will be unblemished through His righteousness.

Trust in the Lord Jesus Christ. Rest in His atoning work on the cross of Calvary and in His resurrection from the dead. Read His Word and confess and repent of your sin, accepting His forgiveness.

Then, when facing God with our Savior at His side, you will hear “Well done, my good and faithful servant.”

Father, I bow in humble thankfulness, gratitude and love, I am in awe of your grace and mercy that was extended to me through Jesus Christ my Savior and Redeemer. Use these simple words to spread your kingdom in our world, My Lord and my God.

We love to take pictures of courthouses as we travel. It is understandable since I spent 30 years in the practice of law and was in many courthouses throughout the Southeast United States.

On a visit to Vicksburg, Mississippi, we saw the old Warren County Courthouse and decided to look around. As we were leaving the courthouse, we saw a plaque in honor of the soldiers from Vicksburg and Warren County, Mississippi, who fought in World War II. The poem at the top of the granite block is entitled SOLDIERS and it reads:

We were that which others did not want to be, we went where others feared to go, and did what others failed to do. We were … AMERICAN SOLDIERS.

Monument to american soldiers outside vicksburg old courthouse — Monument in Vicksburg, Mississippi

The word “soldier” brings up many different emotions, memories, experiences to people, but I suspect that for the vast majority of people, the word “soldier” encompasses the concept of one who is willing to deny themselves for the benefit of others. That is certainly what is within the words on the Warren County monument to Company B of the 106^th Engineer (Combat) Battalion, 31st Infantry (Dixie) Division of the Mississippi National Guard in the 1940s.

The Apostle Paul was certainly well acquainted with the role that soldiers had in the Roman world. He, after all, was imprisoned on more than one occasion, and each time there were soldiers who guarded him who undoubtedly heard Paul’s witness for Christ.

“And when we came into Rome, Paul was allowed to stay by himself, with the soldier who guarded him.”

Acts 28:16

Therefore, it is not surprising that Paul used the analogy of being a soldier when referring to serving Christ Jesus in our walk through this life. Specifically, in 2 Timothy, Paul told the young preacher:

“Share in suffering as a good soldier of Christ Jesus. No soldier gets entangled in civilian pursuits, since his aim is to please the one who enlisted him.”

2 Timothy 2:3-4

Being a soldier for Jesus reminds me of a song that I sang as a young child. It was sung to the tune of The Old Gray Mare and the words went like this:

I may never march in the infantry; Ride in the cavalry; .Shoot the artillery.

I may never fly o’er the enemy; But I’m in the Lord’s army!

Yes Sir! [with a child’s salute]

The concept of being a soldier is especially strong in my heart today as, this past weekend, one of our congregation’s covenant children and a recent high school graduate left our town and flew to the other side of the world so she could work with a mission organization in Asia.

She will be in a culture totally foreign to her, away from her family, for a year. She is, in the truest sense of the term, a soldier for Jesus Christ in a foreign land.

I pray that the Lord will bless her work and will bring many to a saving knowledge of Jesus Christ because of her witness. I pray that the Lord will give her peace and comfort as she is away from home for such a long time, and I pray that she will be supported through the prayers of the congregation that she left in our town. [As a parent, I pray too that the Lord will give grace, comfort and peace to her family who will miss her presence daily.]

But, the fact that she left to do her work in the Lord’s army does not mean that there is no such work for me, or for you, to do. We are all called to be soldiers for Jesus, no matter if it is in a foreign land or across the street. To paraphrase the Vicksburg granite monument,

We are called to love those who others would not, we will go where others fear to go, and we will give witness even when others fail to do so. We are … SOLDIERS OF THE KING.

Listen to my husband’s favorite hymn as presented by 101 Strings on the album Amazing Grace Songs of Faith and Inspiration, “Onward Christian Soldiers”.

Father, I praise You for giving us the gift of Jesus Christ as our Savior, Redeemer and King. I pray that I would be a soldier in your army who operates in accordance with your orders, and that I would be fruitful in my witness as I do your work in my world.