There is a parable about a life savings station* next to a lighthouse on a rocky coast.  Even with the lighthouse shinning its beacon, the treacherous rocks still claim many a ship and so the life boat is often dispatched full of it’s brave young lifesavers to bring in those cast into the dangerous waters.   Some of those helped or saved, being of like mind and age of the lifesavers actually join the station and become lifesavers themselves.

This scene is played out many times over the years, with many a grateful person to attest to how they were helped and or actually had their life saved by that life saving station being there.

As more years fly by though, the men of the station have grown older, and they venture out to save others less and less.  Finally, they just place the life boat in a beautiful cradle built to enshrine it, and sit back with their drinks and toast themselves for what great lifesavers that they have been. 

Meanwhile, ships still come to grief on the deadly rocks outside of the lifesaving station, but no one inside hears the cries, for they have failed to recruit new and vigorous life savers and they themselves are just too tired to do it any more. 

We at the grass roots of VFW have far too many members who no longer are moved by our motto:  “We Honor the Dead, by Serving the Living”.  We are often content to let our also aging members of the Ladies Auxiliary carry our program load, while we do the minimum to keep our charters.  We also toast ourselves in our canteens, and remember our days of glory.  If we are too tired or no longer inspired by our great motto, and mandate to help Veterans and our Troops when they are in need, then we need to find our replacements now.  Luke warm recruiting will insure that a huge number of our current post will simply close their doors within only a dozen or so years.  Are we willing to let that happen, or is there still a fire in some of our gut’s? 

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Jim Van Rite
Webmaster

*The sourse of the Parable of the "Life Saving Station" is unknow. This is my adaptation of the parable. I heard it in a sermon many years ago and the Pastor didn't know the source either.

I also found that are many versions of this parable, which can be found with a google search (parable of the lifesaving station). Click here to see one of the versions.