I’m still wearing purple this week. Purple is for the month of April—the Month of the Military Child. Last week, we looked at the unique challenges and difficulties that

I’m still wearing purple because it’s still the month of April, and purple is the color for the Month of the Military Child. If you’re wondering why the color purple is for the Month of the Military Child, you’re not alone. I had to look that up too.

Purple combines all of the branches’ colors into one. The Air Force, the Navy, the Coast Guard, and the Space Force all use shades of blue. The Army uses green and the Marine Corps, red. So that combines all of the colors into purple and reminds us that there are children in each of the branches of our nation’s military.

So as we think about the Month of the Military Child and children in military families, I was thinking about one of the readings that will come up on Sunday. If you are privileged to be in person with your family at your church home, or if you’re watching online (as many of you do since you are far away from your church families being in our nation’s military), one of the readings will be from John’s gospel, chapter 15, verse 5. Jesus says, “I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing.”

The reason I thought of this and connecting it to military children is that there’s so much change that military children often go through. And one of the best things that we can do for our military children is to have some kind of continuity—something that is the same wherever they go. And what better continuity than Christ? Jesus himself says, “I am the vine; you are the branches.” The picture that he’s using is one that the disciples would see every day as they walked the roads and the paths in Israel. They would see those vine branches growing up on the hillsides, and they would immediately have been reminded of Jesus’ words. “Look there. There’s a vine and there’s a healthy branch, and it’s growing this big cluster of grapes. They look healthy and great for eating and making wine.”

That’s us and our good works. Jesus wants us to go out and love our neighbor in whatever vocation he’s given us. But the only way that we can do that—and also grieve with hope and handle the changes in our life and go through stress and anxiety—is if we stay connected to Christ and he to us. And what better thing can we do for our children, especially those in military families, than to keep them connected to Christ?

Remember, we have resources for you. If you’re wondering, How can I, as a parent of a military child, with all of these changes that we’re going through in our lives, keep my child connected to Christ? And how can I keep myself connected to Christ? Because that helps my child stay connected to Jesus. Contact our office at [email protected]. We have resources that we can send you, things that we can share with you, and places that we can point you to and say, “Hey, here’s a way to daily stay connected to Jesus.”

There’s one family that I keep in touch with on a weekly basis. They’re stationed in South Korea, and they have a new baby girl. She’s a few months old, but even at a few months old, what this couple does is when they have their devotions together as husband and wife, their daughter is sitting on their laps listening and hearing the Word of God. And when we hold our online worship service for all of the folks that are stationed in the Pacific, there she is, singing along with the hymns. She’s hearing God’s Word.

So whether your child is 2 months or 2 years or 12 years or 22 years, or maybe you are that 22-year-old or 32-year-old or 42-year-old reading this devotion and you are a child of a military family—maybe you followed in Mom’s or Dad’s footsteps—what better way for you to stay connected to Jesus than to be in his Word and hearing his promises, from your risen, resurrected, and living Lord Jesus, who promises to stay connected to you?

When we stay connected to Jesus in his Word and through his sacraments, we are reminded of our baptisms and all that he has done for us. He’s called us his sons and daughters, he’s forgiven our sins, and he’s given us the sure hope of eternal life in heaven.

When we receive his very body and blood for the forgiveness of our sins—this is the price that he paid to set us free from those sins and keep us connected to him.

When we read a devotion like this, when we open our Bibles, and when we gather with other Christians to hear the good news about Jesus—we stay connected to Christ, and more importantly, he stays connected to us as a branch remains in a vine.

My encouragement to you today is to keep connected to Christ. He will stay connected to you. That is his promise to you.

Prayer:

Almighty God, our heavenly Father, you’ve set the lonely in families. We commend to your care all the homes in which your people live. Keep them free from bitterness, pride, and selfishness. Fill them with faith and wisdom, with patience and godliness. Let children and parents show respect for one another. Bless us all with a spirit of kindness and true affection. Raise up faithful fathers and mothers to bring the Word of God to their children so that we might tell the next generation the wonderful and amazing things that you have done for us and for them. Keep us connected to you as we listen to your Word as it is read and studied, as we remember our baptisms, and as we receive your Holy Supper for the forgiveness of our sins. We ask this all in Jesus’ name. Amen.