“God decided in advance to adopt us into His own family by bringing us to Himself through Jesus Christ. This is what He wanted to do, and it gave Him great pleasure.” Ephesians 1:5
It was a difficult necessity. Like the Azores, I thought Le Havre (French for “The Port”) was just another port…but I was wrong. I guess I’m learning that few places are just places and few things are just things. Honestly, for us aboard the Majestic Princess, Le Havre was just a jumping off place to see both Normandy and Paris. But for the people who lived there–especially during World War II–it was more much more. Let me explain.
For centuries, Le Havre was one of the most important ports in all of France. That was especially true during World War II. After Hitler seized most of Europe, he instantly realized what an important prize this was for importing the supplies he needed and was a valuable home base for his navy. As the Allied forces prepared to invade France for the purpose of driving Hitler out and reclaiming it for the French people, two things occurred. Hitler determined to do whatever necessary to keep the port–even to the last man and the Allies were determined to do whatever necessary to take it from him.
In the leading up to D-Day, June 6, 1944 and for many weeks following, both air and ground forces assaulted the city and the port. The results were total devastation. You see, as a crucial port held by the German Kriegsmarine and 226th/245th Infantry Divisions, taking Le Havre was vital for supplying the Allied armies. It was the final major city in Normandy to be liberated. On September 5-6, 1944, devastating air raids killed thousands of civilians, injured over 75,000 others and destroyed over 12,500 buildings. Finally, on September 10-12, 1944, British and Canadian forces on the ground attacked in force which led to the Germans finally surrendering. Over 11,300 German soldiers were captured.
By now your saying, “Thank-you, Dewayne for the history lesson” but wait there is something to learn here. You might think that the French people where angry at what the Allied forces had caused. After all, the city was so totally destroyed that it had to be rebuilt from the ground up. There was no repairing–they couldn’t even attempt to rebuild the beautiful, old city. But wait–they weren’t angry. You see, they understood that what happened had to happen. If they were to be free from the German occupation, there would be a price to pay. You see, freedom always has a price. The price to the French people was huge but the price in lives for the Allied forces was also massive. We will talk more about that later.
Now for the big truth. You see, the price for our spiritual freedom was beyond calculation. The only way that we could be free from sin, the only way we could be united with our Heavenly Father was the death of God’s Son Jesus. There was no other way. Yet because He was willing to suffer and die–we can live and be free. And perhaps the most amazing thing is that God willingly sent His Son and Jesus willingly died on that cross. It was their plan–the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit–long before the first sin. Ephesians 1:5 says, “God decided in advance to adopt us into His own family by bringing us to Himself through Jesus Christ. This is what He wanted to do, and it gave Him great pleasure.” Simply amazing.
So in the life, death and resurrection of Le Havre we can see another story–the life, death and resurrection of Jesus. We can see that the price was so very great but somehow God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit counted us worth that price. And that really is simply amazing. This great truth is one of the reasons I know, no matter what, that they really do have it. Amen and Amen. Bro. Dewayne
Grits with Grace 