1 Peter 2:17
“Honor all people. Love the brotherhood. Fear God. Honor the king.”
When I was a commissioned officer in the United States Air Force, it was common to give and receive hand salutes. The lower ranking individual always saluted first, and his salute was always returned by the officer of higher rank.
When you arrived at a new duty station, one of the first things that was required was to register your automobile. This gave you access to go in and out of the base without stopping to register. A decal was placed on the windshield on the driver’s side; officers had different colored decals from enlisted personnel. When you approached the gate the guard would stand at attention and salute, and you would then return the salute as you passed through.
On one occasion my dad was visiting us from out of state and, for some reason, had used our car to go into town. He was delighted when he returned and said the guard had saluted him when he passed through the gate back onto the base. When I asked him what he did, Dad said he returned the salute. The guard had simply saluted the decal identifying a commissioned officer.
Military protocol requires giving honor. It is tragic that we fail to honor the God of the universe who has created all things and for whom all things were created. I personally want to give more honor to the Lord than ever before in 2016!
May God richly bless you as you bless others by your words and actions!
– – – Pastor Cecil