The movie, “Saving Private Ryan” is one of those movies you dread going to see. Its graphic depiction of the allied invasion of Normandy Beach leaves nothing to the imagination. At the theater I watched portions of the movie with my eyes closed. In reality, twenty-five hundred allied troops lost their lives that day.

The story is told that, as one of the first landing craft neared the beach, to unload its cargo of green troops, a young lieutenant attempted to muster courage among his men by reminding those in his platoon of the value and cost of freedom. Moments before the landing craft’s ramp lowered to spill his men onto the beach, he shouted, “Many of you will not live through this day, so make your lives count for something!”

It would have been easy for Jesus to avoid the “battle ground” of the Garden of Gethsemane. However, with the value and cost of freedom firmly embraced within His heart, Jesus boldly strode into the Garden with His eyes wide open.

How grateful we should be today that in delivering Himself to the mob and ultimately dying on the cross, Jesus made His life count for us!