Remembering D-Day

June 6, 1944—a date that will live in the collective memory.

This year marks the sixty-fifth anniversary of the landings of Allied troops at five beaches in Normandy, codenamed Sword, Juno, Gold, Omaha, and Utah.

Thousands of American, British, and Canadian soldiers made the ultimate sacrifice on that fateful day. So did thousands of German soldiers, who like their counterparts fought bravely during the horrific bombardments and the assaults that followed.

We have all seen photos and movies of D-Day, but these can only begin to capture the horror of the battle. No cinema experience can reproduce the howling of big guns, the drenching of salt water spray and surf, or the stench of blood amidst wounds and corpses.

Much planning went into D-Day. Secrecy and deception helped to guarantee its success. But once the Allied forces established the toehold in occupied France, World War II, at least in the European Theater, was essentially over—it was only a matter of time until Germany would be defeated.

However, D-Day didn’t signal an end to the fighting. Countless thousands more troops would die over the next eleven months, as the Nazis fought fanatically to try to prevent the unconditional surrender to the Allies.

The situation regarding D-Day has been compared to the rule of Christ in this world, and His rule in the human heart.

When Jesus Christ died at the cross and then three days later rose again from the dead, Satan’s stronghold was broken. Jesus had told His disciples that it was necessary to bind the strong man in order to plunder his kingdom—and that is what Jesus has done and is doing with respect to Satan.

However, from another perspective, the devil, though defeated, is still desperately fighting back. Even though his position is more hopeless than that which Germany faced after June 6, 1944, the devil will not quit in his efforts to ensnare people in his wicked and wily ways. Much fighting remains, both at the cosmic level, and in the individual heart.

But those who have trusted Jesus as Lord and Savior can be assured that the victory has been secured through the blood of Him who is the Lamb of God.

On this D-Day anniversary, let’s not forget the sacrifice for freedom paid by the Allied troops on the sands and the bluffs of Normandy. But let us also remember that D-Day serves as a parable of the time between Jesus’ first coming and His second coming, when He shall complete the mopping up operation and bring in the universal peace. And let us always be mindful of the fact that in the spiritual realm, the fight is even more ferocious and intense than what was experienced on D-Day.