“For some time, I had struggled between developing my talents in the field of art and going into full-time evangelistic work. At last, the pivotal hour of my life came, and I surrendered all. A new day was ushered into my life. I became an evangelist and discovered down deep in my soul a talent hitherto unknown to me. God had hidden a song in my heart, and touching a tender chord, He caused me to sing.” ~ Judson W. Van DeVenter (1855–1939)
Can you recall the last time you heard the hymn sung at the end of a worship service? I can. It’s a regular “closer” for the many. Few rank higher for invitational hymns. Perhaps second only to Just As I Am, maybe. But why? I rarely hear the song that I do not think about the end of the second world war.
On September 2, 1945, on the deck of the USS Missouri in Tokyo Bay, Japan signed the “Instrument of Surrender,” ending the hostility between Japan and Allied forces. The terms were simple—unconditional surrender. However, Japan’s submission was contingent on one factor; there would be no negotiation or terms, only total abandonment of the cause and submission to the Allied Forces. The Allies could have engaged in horrific retaliation, and had this even happened in distant history, Rome, Greece, Assyria, Persia, or Babylon, would have annihilated entire populations, nations, and cultures. There are still those today who suggest bombing enemies into the stone age. However, this was not the approach of the Americans and Allies.
The Potsdam Declaration, drafted on July 26 and signed on September 2, declares, “Japanese military forces, after being completely disarmed, shall be permitted to return to their homes with the opportunity to lead peaceful and productive lives”
and “we do not intend that the Japanese shall be enslaved as a race or destroyed as a nation, but stern justice shall be meted out to all war criminals, including those who have visited cruelties upon our prisoners.” At the end of the document, “We call upon the government of Japan to proclaim now the unconditional surrender of all Japanese armed forces, and to provide proper and adequate assurances of their good faith in such action. The alternative for Japan is prompt and utter destruction.” Considering what could have happened to the Japanese versus the agreement, we may acknowledge the terms were both humanitarian and full of grace.
At one point, we were enemy combatants against God and His will. After constant failure, loss, and sorrow, we came to our senses to realize that we were in no place to be victorious. We tried and lost the battle. Nevertheless, in God’s great mercy and grace made us an offer of unconditional surrender and with it promise of something new. We deserve hell, but by God’s grace and mercy, he offers salvation through Jesus Christ. We have the opportunity to begin peaceful and productive lives in fellowship with God. Nonetheless, the alternative was “prompt and utter destruction,” for the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life.
