Description
What Christ Would Do
This story is directed to all of you who, as disciples of the Lord Jesus Christ, have been called upon to love your enemy—not with empty words—but actions and sacrifice.
In 2005, Major David Klingensmith was sent to Iraq as part of Operation Enduring Freedom. This is commonly known as the second Iraq War. Major Klingensmith is a doctor, more specifically, an anesthesiologist, and was assigned to the 115th field hospital just outside of Baghdad during the war. He is also my friend and shared this story with me personally. He told me how shortly after arriving there, he wrote a letter back home that was published in April 2005 in the Deseret News in Salt Lake City. I quote now from the letter.
“I am here at the notorious Abu Ghraib prison with the 115th Field Hospital, with the assignment to provide for the medical and surgical care of the detainees and injured civilians. This is a unique mission for an army hospital at a time of war. The usual role is to care for injured soldiers and POWs that present from the battlefield…. The 115th has the sole mission of caring for the insurgents, prisoners and civilians that are injured or require medical attention. …. We have been told to render the same quality of care to our patients as we would to a U.S. soldier under similar circumstances. Only we don’t get the satisfaction of caring for our soldiers, only for those whom our soldiers are fighting or have captured.
“Yesterday was a long day here at Abu Ghraib. After finishing some elective cases in the morning, we heard explosions and gunfire nearby. Soon four insurgents arrived at our ER, shot up with multiple fragment wounds by the Marines guarding our compound. Apparently, they were planting an IED right outside our compound, then set one off that hit one of our trucks, then got in a gunfight with the Marines. Apparently, there were many more who did not survive the fight or were captured, but we only got four. After spending about eight hours working on them in surgery, we had a small break, then we heard another explosion. Soon a young Marine arrived who had been injured when they set off an IED on him while he was on foot patrol around the compound. He had multiple injuries, the worst to an eye that he will probably never see out of again. We sent him off to a combat support hospital in Baghdad where he was to have his wounds addressed.
“Then it hit me how we had spent most of the day fixing guys who probably set up the IED that just hurt one of our guys — kind of gave me a big knot in my stomach. This is the hardest part of caring for these prisoners — they got here because they were captured or injured while trying to kill our guys. And they would probably just as soon kill us, given half the chance (we have armed MPs posted throughout the hospital). Then I realized that we do this because we are a Christian, God-fearing people that respects life and humanity. The gospel of Jesus Christ is a gospel of love: love thy God with all thy heart; love thy neighbor; do unto others as you would have done to you; love your enemies; love the sinner. This is where the rubber meets the road. Putting your skill and effort into saving the life of an enemy that moments ago may have just injured or killed one of your own exacts an emotional toll that I can only endure knowing that this is what Christ would do.
“I can only hope that someday the kindness and smiles I have personally extended to these people will cause them to question their hatred for America and the validity of the cause for which they fight. I hope. I hope.
“Tough day. And that was only on Day 5 for me at Abu Ghraib. It could always have been worse. It makes me appreciate that while our country is not perfect, it is a blessed country that I am very proud to represent and serve. Only America would perform such a service for its enemies.”
Wherever you are—whoever you are—bless you to go and do likewise!
Source:
Deseret News (https://www.deseret.com/authors/deseret-news) Apr 12, 2005, 4:15am GMT+13:45 Maj. David Klingensmith
