Born in Plymouth, North Carolina, Jacklyn “Jack” Lucas was always big for his age, a characteristic the fourteen-year old would use to forge his mother’s name and join the Marines after the surprise attack at Pearl Harbor. When the Marines realized their mistake a year later, Lucas was consigned to driving a truck in Hawaii. But not content to sit out the war, he stowed away on the USS Deuel, a transport ship bound for Iwo Jima. Lucas would celebrate his seventeenth birthday at sea, joining the 5th Marine Division when landing on that Japanese-controlled island. When two grenades were thrown into a trench occupied by Lucas and three other Marines, the young hero would throw his body on one of the grenades, pushing the second deep into the volcanic soil. Seconds later, Lucas was thrown into the air, suffering grievous wounds from over 250 pieces of shrapnel shot into his body. He would miraculously survive, becoming the youngest man since the Civil War to be awarded the Medal of Honor.
Honor, esteem, value, or great respect. To honor someone is to value them highly and bestow deep value on them. God exhorts us to honor “thy father and mother,” the “face of the old man,” those in authority “ordained of God,” our spouses, and “one another.” We are commanded to “Let the elders that rule well be counted worthy of double honour, especially they who labour in the word and doctrine,” reminding us to esteem those who share God’s Word with us and shepherd the flock. But when all is said and done we know this, that our precious Lord is alone worthy “to receive glory and honour, and power.” And why? “for (He) hast created all things, and for (His) pleasure they are and were created.”
Timothy, or in the Greek form Timotheos, means honouring God, in God’s honour, and was the name chosen for our third son, who like Lucas, was always big and tall for his age. Our prayer for him was that he would truly live a life that honored the awesome God we serve. There never has been, nor will there ever be, anyone in any position of power or authority who can claim the honor due our Lord, for He is the One Who “made heaven, and earth, and the sea, and the fountains of water.” He is the sustainer of the universe and the author of my salvation. May we all strive to live lives that bring honor and glory to the One so deserving of that honor.
I Chronicles 29:11 Thine, O LORD, is the greatness, and the power, and the glory, and the victory, and the majesty: for all that is in the heaven and in the earth is thine; thine is the kingdom, O LORD, and thou art exalted as head above all.
Honoring God would be a wonderful goal for all of us, for He alone is worthy of our praise.