Saman Gunan was 38
“Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one’s life for one’s friends.” (John 15:13, NIV)
I’ve been on vacation. It was wonderful to wake up without a schedule, ease into the day with a cold glass of water and a rising sun, lounge lazily on the beach, play in the surf, eat with family and enjoy some friendly competition, and collapse into bed in the evening from playing hard, not from working hard. It was also great that my coworkers and my boss recognize that, while we give them 80- and 90-hour weeks, vacations are meant to be enjoyed, not disrupted.
But while I was away recharging my batteries, drama was unfolding in Thailand. As a group of boys and their coach fought for survival 2 ½ miles deep into the Tham Luang cave complex in Thailand, Saman Gunan (Kunan), a former Thai Navy SEAL, died on July 6th as he was staging air tanks for other rescue divers. Gunan was a retired Thai sailor working as an airport security guard. According to reports, he enjoyed extreme sports and was an accomplished triathlete. I did not know Gunan. I never even met the man. I do not know what kind of person he was or what kind of life he led. I only know the legacy he leaves behind.
Thailand is a majority Bhdduhst nation, where Christians make up less than 1 percent of the population and more than 93 percent are Buddhist. But as I’ve written before, you don’t have to be a Christian to practice Christ’s teachings. Loving another as much or more than yourself is universal.
So this is just a quick note to remind us all, if the choice is between hating some immigrant child because his parent brought him here illegally, castrating some police officer because another man you have never even met was shot during what should have been a routine traffic stop, or reaching out a hand to help someone who can never return the favor, please choose the latter even if it comes at great personal cost. Others may never know why, and it does not matter. God sees into the heart of every man.
Saman Gunan was 38. Greater love has no one than this…
