Yesterday was VE Day at work.
VE stands for Victory in Europe Day, which celebrates the end of the Second World War in Europe. Can you believe it’s been 80 years since the war ended? At the cafeteria, there were trivia games and activities for people to engage and celebrate.
Fun fact about the war:
Do you know that Fanta was actually invented in Germany during the war? E shock you too, abi? The Coca-Cola branch in Germany couldn’t get their usual syrup supply from the parent company in the U.S. because of the war. So, they had to improvise, and that’s how Fanta came into existence. Imagine that – necessity birthing invention in the middle of crisis.
But one of the wildest stories from the war has to be that of Onoda Hiroo, a Japanese soldier who kept fighting for almost 29 years after the war had ended! Can you imagine? That’s 10,416 days of living in the jungle, thinking he was still in active combat. Flyers and letters from family were even dropped from the air to inform him that the war had ended, but he thought it was enemy strategy to trick him. Omooo, baba no gree!
He lost all his fellow soldiers over the years, but still held on. It wasn’t until a Japanese explorer discovered him that things began to change. Even then, Onoda still refused to surrender until they brought his former commanding officer to officially relieve him of duty.
It really got me thinking:
How many of us are like Onoda, still fighting battles that are long over? Carrying bitterness, fear, shame, or unforgiveness that God has already called time on. Which war are you still fighting in your mind? And on whose instruction are you still holding that line? Is the war still on – or is it even your battle to fight?
As believers, we sometimes forget that the ultimate battle has already been won on the cross. We live as if we’re still at war when God has declared peace. The Bible says in 1 John 5:4: “For everyone born of God overcomes the world. And this is the victory that has overcome the world: our faith.”
Even in our secular lives, sometimes, the bravest thing isn’t holding the line, it’s knowing when to lay down your sword and go home.
Have a great weekend!
1 thought on “Victory Day”
How will someone use almost my who life experience hitherto to keep fighting a war that had already ended.
God abeg.
Thank God for social media.
To weighted things, may we not keep fighting battles that are already over.