This question was asked at the end of the Motion Picture, “Saving Private Ryan,” which was released a few years ago, depicting war in a graphic and realistic way. Private Ryan asked this question of his wife in a very emotional way during a visit to a cemetery of World War II soldiers — while the movie camera focused on thousands upon thousands of casualties of war, identified by white crosses.

Private Ryan’s mother used to have three sons. The War Department had already informed the family that two of her sons had been killed in war. When the fate of her third son — Private Ryan — had become uncertain, the War Department sent out a group of soldiers to locate Private Ryan and to bring him home safely. It was felt that losing two sons in war was a sufficient sacrifice for any family. The soldiers who were sent out to locate Private Ryan were all killed in the process of saving him. They sacrificed their lives to save him. This was the reason why he asked his wife whether he had been a good man. Was he really “worthy” enough for the ultimate sacrifice these men had made for him by paying with their lives so that he could live?

The question for us today is this: Have we been a good man or woman in our lives? As in the case of Private Ryan, someone was willing to die for us so that we could live. That Person was a Righteous Man Who was willing to die for our past sins so that we would not have to suffer eternal death. This Righteous Man was more than just an ordinary person; He was our beloved Savior, the God of the Old Testament Who gave up His Divinity to become a Man, so that He could die for us.

When Christ gave His life for us, we were NOT good people. None of us were. In fact, we were His enemies, deceived by the god of this world–Satan the devil–following the carnal lusts of the flesh. We were most certainly not “worthy” to receive the opportunity for eternal life through the Sacrifice of Christ.

But we CAN become good people. It is interesting what Christ said about being a good man in Matthew 12:35: “A good man out of the good treasure of his heart brings forth good things.” On another occasion He said: “Why do you call Me good? No one is good but One, that is, God. But if you want to enter into life, keep the commandments” (Matthew 19:17). He recognized that it was God the Father, living in Him, Who made Him good. This is true of us also. David said, in Psalm 119:172: “For all your commandments are righteousness.” We too can be righteous if God’s Spirit in us is leading us and we are obedient to His commandments.

Very soon now we will be keeping the Passover and Days of Unleavened Bread. This is a special time for us, both to examine ourselves and to work on putting sin out of our lives. While we meditate on these things, let us never forget the tremendous sacrifice Christ made for us, willingly giving up His life as a God being, and subsequently His physical life, to make available to us eternal life. As we reflect on these things set before us, let us ask ourselves the same question which Private Ryan asked: “Have I been a good man?”

Do we sometimes get discouraged or have feelings of disappointment because we may think that there does not seem to be enough spectacular growth in the Church of God, which is a spiritual organism? What we have to realize is that growth can be measured in more than one way. It can be measured by focusing on “numbers” — as far as quantity of members and coworkers is concerned — and it can be measured by focusing on increase of spiritual understanding and better conduct (2 Peter 3:18; Ephesians 4:15) — as far as quality of living is concerned. Which, do you suppose, is more important in God’s eyes?

We may want to compare the growth of the Church with the foundation of a building. When it is strong, one can build on it. However, God must lay the foundation.

When David faced Goliath, it seemed to the human eye like an impossible task to defeat him. Goliath was a giant, close to nine feet tall, and David was just a teenager — he would be termed in our day as a “little runt” by comparison. Yet, this young man who did not have the impressive stature of Goliath, brought God’s enemy down. He did it with God’s help, not relying on his own strength. However, if they were taking bets at that time, you can imagine where the money would have been placed; yet, it did not turn out the way most people thought. The champion of the Philistines went down hard and with finality. You can read the entire account in 1 Samuel 17.

You can also read an interesting account in the seventh chapter of the book of Judges, in regard to God accomplishing a lot with Gideon and a small group of his supporters. God reduced the manpower down to 300 soldiers. With that small “army,” Gideon was able to overcome humanly insurmountable odds, because God was on his side. From a human point of view, it would have seemed to be an impossible task. You may recall, too, that Mr. Armstrong and his wife kept the Feast of Tabernacles, by themselves, for seven years, before God added anyone to the Church. Seven stands for completeness. The foundation had to be laid first.

After Christ’s death and resurrection, only 120 people were willing, at first, to follow Christ totally and completely (Acts 1:15). Prior to Christ’s death, there were many who had followed Him, but only up to a point. In fact, not every one of His disciples was willing to grow, by accepting more spiritual knowledge. When Christ tried to expand the spiritual horizon of His disciples, many refused to embrace His teaching and ceased to walk with Him any longer (John 6:60-66). At that time, the group of believers DECREASED in quantity, but those who stayed were willing and ready to INCREASE in quality (John 6:67-68).

We firmly believe that in God’s due time, He will add more people to Christ’s body — the Church — as He sees fit. In the meantime, let us ensure that we grow in the quality of our relationship with God. We must never despise the day of small things (Zechariah 4:10). In the end, God can and will accomplish growth in every respect (Isaiah 55:10-11).

The year 2004 was quite an interesting one in regard to pre-Tribulation events spoken of by Christ for the end-time. We experienced flooding in the Philippines, droughts in parts of the United States and Africa, starvation and genocide in the Sudan, hurricanes in Florida, earthquakes in diverse places, and — to top off the year — a huge earthquake and subsequent tsunamis causing over 150,000 fatalities in South-East Asia. We also heard of continual conflicts, terrorist attacks and bombings in Israel, Iraq, and other parts of the world.

What can we expect for 2005? Unfortunately, more of the same, according to what the Bible says, and possibly even in increasing and progressively worse proportions, as we approach the final stages of Satan’s rule over this earth.

We must always bear in mind the truth and reality that Satan is the present ruler over this world. As outlined in Matthew 4:8-9, Satan offered the kingdoms of this world to Christ, if He would bow down and worship him. He could not have offered them to Christ, if they were not his to give. You will notice that Christ did not challenge this issue. We also know that Satan deceives the whole world (Revelation 12:9) — that is the reason why most don’t recognize the fact about who really rules over this earth.

Unfortunately, all those curses which we experienced in 2004 are the result of disobedience to God and His laws. They are the direct result of sin.

The recent earthquake in Asia is nothing compared to what we will encounter going forward. Yet, man’s general attitude will continue to be one of defiance. Let us notice this prophecy in Revelation 6:12-14: “I looked when he opened the sixth seal, and behold, there was a great earthquake… Then the sky receded as a scroll when it is rolled up, and every mountain and island was moved out of its place.”

It is hard for us to imagine the magnitude of an earthquake that will move every mountain and island out of its place. Still, we don’t find that man will repent. Rather, they will try to hide themselves from God (verses 15-16), as Adam and Eve tried to do, after they had sinned.

Further events are described in Revelation 16:18-21, talking about another great earthquake; in fact, it will be such “a mighty and great earthquake as had not occurred since men were on the earth” (verse 18). We read that “the great city [modern Babylon or Rome] was divided into three parts, and the cities of the nations fell” (verse 19). In addition, “every island fled away, and the mountains were not found” (verse 20). This unprecedented earthquake will be so powerful that islands will disappear and great mountains will become small hills. We cannot really imagine such an event. In addition, we are told that “great hail from heaven fell upon men” (verse 21). Still, man won’t repent. Rather, we read in the same verse that “Men blasphemed God because of the plague of the hail, since the plague was exceedingly great.”

However, we do read, in Revelation 11:13, about another “great earthquake, and a tenth of the city [of Jerusalem] fell. In the earthquake seven thousand people were killed, and the rest were afraid and gave glory to the God of heaven.” While most people won’t repent, some will, as these terrible tragedies continue to strike.

Christ told us that these things, which we are experiencing right now, are just the “beginning of sorrows” (Matthew 24:8). It will get much worse. It is critical that we are maintaining a close relationship with God, so that we can be protected by Him in the years ahead.

We find an interesting discussion between Christ and Peter in the 21st chapter of the book of John. Peter was repeatedly asked by Christ if he loved Him. You can sense by the responses of Peter that by the third time Christ asked him this question, he was a little frustrated. We see from the responses given by Christ in Verses 15-17 of John 21, that He, on the other hand, was focused on how this love was to be manifested. These responses were, “Feed My lambs,” “Tend My sheep” and “Feed My sheep.”

We can conclude by these responses to “Do you love ME?” that the way to demonstrate that love is by feeding and tending Christ’s sheep. This responsibility lies with the ministry and we in the ministry are to take that responsibility seriously.

Now, there are several ways to feed sheep. You can feed them sporadically, cut back on the amount you feed them or feed them a poor quality diet. All of these methods produce the same result — weakened, sickly sheep subject to disease and unable to ward off predatory attacks. It is unfortunate that some of the Churches of God have chosen this path in regard to their sermons, counseling and writings, thereby “feeding milk” to the sheep — messages that are more palatable, more appetizing, more appealing — instead of giving the flock meat in due season.

Is this the type of feeding that is expected of the ministry? Let us look at what Paul admonished Timothy in 2 Timothy 4:1-2:” I charge you therefore before God and the Lord Jesus Christ, who will judge the living and the dead at His appearing and His kingdom: Preach the word! Be ready in season and out of season. Convince, rebuke, exhort, with all longsuffering and teaching.”

There is no hint here of watering down the truth to become more popular or make it more palatable. Rather, Paul admonishes Timothy to always tell the truth as it is, with love and longsuffering.

Can you imagine having a group of guests over for a fine dinner and serving a quality wine that was half watered down, and trying to explain to your guests that you were trying to be frugal and save a little money by watering down the wine by 50%? I suspect this would not go over very well, no matter how you presented your case.

The ministry in The Church of the Eternal God in the U.S, the Church of God, a Christian Fellowship in Canada, and the Global Church of God in England take very seriously the responsibility of feeding meat in due season to the sheep of Christ, as well as tending to them. We are not out to win a popularity contest and we are not out to offend, either. At the same time, we will not shrink from the responsibilities given to us by Christ and demonstrating our love for Him. That love is shown by our “Feeding His Sheep,” as He commanded.

We shall continue to give meaty sermons based on the Bible and not on speculation or merely on human tradition. Speculation may be titillating to the ear, but it does little for the stomach, as far as a strong diet is concerned. Our articles and booklets are Bible based. By doing this, we show our love to God the Father and Jesus Christ, as well as our determination to follow the admonition in Matthew 24:45-46: “Who then is a faithful and wise servant, whom his master made ruler over his household, to give them FOOD IN DUE SEASON? Blessed is that servant whom his master, when he comes, will find SO doing” (Emphasis added).

If we truly love God the Father who has called us to His Way, and if we truly love Jesus Christ who gave His life for us, we, as a church, must follow Christ’s command and feed His sheep.

To some people, godly obedience is a small matter in their daily lives, as if it really was unimportant or too insignificant to ponder for any degree of time. Even when faced with clear and unambiguous commands and instruction from God, some find excuses and human reasoning for not obeying. Let us look at a few examples of disobedience and how they impacted individuals, and more importantly, how God viewed them. In 1 Samuel 15:3, Saul was given very specific instructions regarding the attack on Amalek: “… utterly destroy ALL that they have, and do not spare them.” They were to kill all the animals, women, infants and the men. In other words, NONE were to be spared.

Now let us look at what happened. As recorded in 1 Samuel 15:7-9, Saul spared Agag the king and the best of the animals. This was a clear violation of the instructions given by God. What was God’s reaction? Verse 11 reports God’s words: “I greatly regret that I have set up Saul as king, for he has turned back from following Me, and has not performed My commandments.” God was regretting having set up Saul as king because of his disobedience. We get a little more understanding about this by what Samuel says about God’s mind, in verses 22-23: “Has the LORD as great delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices, As in obeying the voice of the LORD? Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice, And to heed than the fat of rams. For rebellion is as the sin of witchcraft, And stubbornness is as iniquity and idolatry. [Notice the consequences of his blatant disobedience in the latter part of this verse:] Because you have rejected the word of the LORD, He has rejected you from being king.”

This was a high price to pay for disobedience, for using human reasoning around a clear command. This world has been doing the same thing since the dawn of man — using human reasoning as an excuse not to obey clear commands from God.

Take the Sabbath, for example. The command is clear — it is from God — yet mankind uses human reasoning, such as, “Yes, we should set a day aside for worship, so we will use Sunday.” The problem with this line of reasoning is that God did not give us the prerogative of choice which day to hallow. Man has only the prerogative of obedience. Is it any wonder our nations are cursed? The importance of obedience is clearly demonstrated and unequivocally stated in Acts 5:32: “And we are His witnesses to these things, and so is the Holy Spirit whom [better: which] God has given to those who OBEY HIM.” God is not going to give His Spirit to those who blatantly disobey, be it in regard to the Sabbath, clean and unclean meats, tithing or any other clear and unambiguous command or instruction.

As we go about living our Christian lives, let us remember the importance of obedience and how imperative it is in God’s mind to reflect on the words of Christ in Luke 16:10: “He who is faithful in what is least is faithful also in much…”

Let us not apply human reasoning as Saul did and was rejected by God — but rather, let’s be willing to obey ALL that we have been commanded to do. Then, instead of being rejected, we can look forward to the glorious words of Christ: “Well done, good and faithful servant… Enter into the joy of your lord” (Matthew 25:21, 23).

There was a man in the mid 30’s during the harsh depression that hit the US and Canada. He was very hungry, unemployed, impoverished and homeless. He was walking along a railway track on a bright day and he said out loud: “Lord I am hungry and broke, please take care of my needs at this time.” He looked down and spotted a 50 cent piece on the ground. Filled with joy and gratitude he picked it up and started to think about the fine meal he could have with this 50 cent piece.

As he walked towards town he came across a trestle which he had to cross. Half way across he accidentally dropped the 50 cent piece. He reached out for it in desperation but it slipped through the rail ties and started to drop to the river below. He watched as it turned and glistened in the sun and eventually slipped into the rushing waters of the river to disappear forever. He slowly got up on his feet and said: “Lord, I thank you that I still have my appetite.”

Although this is a story of fiction, it reflects an attitude we do not see a lot of today. Are we really grateful for all the things we have? Not the things we want but the things we have? Today we live in an ungrateful age. Yet, let’s look at the admonishment in Hebrews 13:5: “… be content with such things as you have.” At the beginning of the verse we are admonished to be without covetousness. Paul also admonishes us in Philippians 4:11, stating, he learned to be content with whatever state he was in. We have to learn to do the same. It is sometimes difficult to have such an attitude, when we go through trials, tests, sickness and the stress associated with living in this age. Remember, it is he who endures to the end who will be saved. So we must not only persevere but be content at the same time.

Someone who is content with what he has would by extension be grateful for what he has.

Look at Paul’s opening statements in Colossians 1:3, “We give thanks to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, praying always for you…” Paul’s statement expresses gratitude to God and Jesus Christ. In 1 Thessalonians 1:2, we read: “We give thanks to God always for you all, making mention of you in our prayers…” another expression of thanks and gratitude to God.

Are we really thankful? You might ask, for what?

For the precious knowledge we have. For the truth of God’s Word and the understanding He gives us through His Holy Spirit.

We have a lot to be thankful for as God’s children and family. We should not only learn to be content with the things that we have, but be grateful, giving thanks to God for all the things He gives us.

A man’s life doesn’t consist of the things he possesses. It is not the person who accumulates the most toys that wins, but he who does the will of the Father. We know His will and we should be content with the precious truths we have; and give thanks to God in a sincere spirit of gratitude for all He does for us now and for the opportunity in the future to serve mankind as His sons and daughters.