Sunday is July 4. Reflecting upon this holiday, it occurred to me how rarely we look back on history and ponder the catastrophes that were averted.
The historian, William Manchester, offers one such incident where this was clearly the case. Whenever we look back on World War II and our war with Japan, we typically consider the war over, after the Atomic bombs were dropped. However, not all of Japan was beaten into submission.
Before the Japanese surrender to Gen. MacArthur and Admiral Nimitz, a group of renegades in the Japanese military planned to overthrow their Emperor's government. Their plot included assassinations against members of their own government. They would then lead the people in a continued war against the United States and its allied forces.
On August 28, as the USS Missouri was sailing into Tokyo Bay, kamikaze bombers were positioned on Japanese airfields, ready to fly and sink the ship. Fortunately, Prince Takamatsu, the younger brother of Emperor Hirohito, reached the Atsugi airstrip before the renegades had left. He convinced them to call off their mission. The Japanese surrender went through as planned.
Stories, such as these, make me think of “the God who is there.” Perhaps His hand is hidden, but I do believe he is at work. It is sad that we humans, because our vision is so limited, do not give thanks often enough for the crisis averted. Perhaps, this is not a reflection on our lack of vision, rather, of our lack of faith.
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