"A Wonderful God We Have"

I just got back from foing to Ft. Snelling with my family. We went to honor the veterans who have passed on, and to get a visual reminder of the price of freedom. It was quite moving. There are thousands, thousands of white headstones, all to remember men and women who loved their country. I saw and read many of them, but two stood out the most.
One was from a man who served as a marine. He had been a POW at Bataan in Japan during WWII. Bataan camps were terrible, terrible places, and the prisoners had to endure horrors far worse than one can imagine from watching a movie. What amazed me most, however, was the fact that below where the stone said Bataan POW WWII, it said Korea, and then Vietnam. Here was a man who endured horrible things at the hands of his enemies, but rather than let that crush him he continued in the military, fighting in two more wars in which he could have been captured again. That man is a true American hero.
The second headstone struck me on a more spiritual level. Below the man's death date, there was this simple yet profound message: "A Wonderful God We Have". Reading that brought tears to my eyes as I considered the truth of that statement, and the faith it must take for this man's family to declare that despite the death of their father, son, and friend. It reminded me of a truth rarely recognized, that faith in God must go above faith in our country. That doesn't mean, however, that we disregard those who serve our country. But it does mean that we praise God regardless of the state our country is in. And our God established this nation we live in and set up men and women to fight for its freedom, and continues to bless those who live there.
At the same time, I think about the death that was the greatest blessing for us, and won freedom from sin for the children of God (if you don't already know what I'm referring to, well, read your Bible). Christ's death on the cross saved us from the power of death, which is greater than the power of North Korea or Iraq or whatever. Jesus is the one who deserves all of our thanks and gratitiude, because whether or not life in America is good eternity would be hell (literally) if it weren't for Christ's atoning work. A wonderful God we have.