AJH

Brigadier General Francis Barlow commanded a division of the Eleventh Corps. It was July 1, 1863 and they were in Gettysburg. The great battle which no one had expected between the North and the South had just begun. Troops were rushing into position and into battle from every place.

General John B. Gordan of Georgia led his troops, a brigade of soldiers, up a small hill just west of the Harrisburg Road. It was here that the two armies met: The north under General Barlow and the South led by General Gordan.

The battle was fierce and the Northern soldiers were outflanked and outnumbered. Barlow himself was wounded badly and fell from his horse to the ground. His wound was so severe that his men could not rescue him amidst the intense fighting. They were forced to retreat and leave him on the battle field to die.

The Southern enemy soldiers poured over the area and surrounded the wounded Barlow. It was then that General Gordan appeared. As he saw the dying officer, he did what no one expected: He asked if he could do anything for him to make him comfortable. General Barlow asked if his wife, a nurse behind the lines, could be sent for to be with him as he died. General Gordan sent messengers to bring her safely through the lines to be with her husband. No one had expected a man to show such kindness to his enemy. But General Gordan did.

The happy part of the story is that General Barlow didn't die. His wife nursed him back to recovery, and after the war, he and General Gordan became friends.

In the Bible, God did the unexpected for Israel. Israel complained about God and deserved to be punished. When Moses raised his rod, it should have brought down hail, or rain, or lightning just at it had done in Egypt. That would have punished the people and taught them a lesson. But instead, he smote the rock and God gave them water.

God does the unexpected. Many people think that they must do something to make God love them and forgive their sins. That it was they expect of other men, and that is what they expect of God. But God does not act like that. We are "justified freely", without a cost or a cause, because of His great love and because of the blood of His Son.

We deserve nothing good from God. We only deserve to be in hell and banished from heaven forever. But God has provided salvation so that we might be in heaven. "For by grace are ye saved through faith. And that not of yourselves. It is the gift of God." Ephesians 2:8,9

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