This Monday is Memorial Day. Wikipedia, my go-to-source for all information (after the Bible of course), says that “Memorial Day is a US federal holiday wherein the men and women who died while serving in the United States Armed Forces are remembered.” In truth, I never really thought about this holiday, and always lumped it in with other random days off throughout the year. And I doubt that I’m alone in these kinds of thoughts. Does anyone even actually know what Labor Day commemorates? Or Presidents’ Day? In fact, why limit it to 1 day for all the presidents? We should definitely have a separate day for Abraham Lincoln at least. I mean, he abolished slavery and killed vampires! Why should he get lumped in with scrubs like Franklin Pierce or Chester Arthur? (Thanks, Wikipedia!) What an insult!
Despite being lumped in with other miscellaneous holidays, Memorial Day is absolutely different though. There’s some real meaning behind this day. While someone like me who doesn’t have any immediate family members in the military may not fully appreciate the weight of Memorial Day, at the least I can acknowledge that my life as I know it today would not be as it is without the ultimate sacrifice given by so many. I will never understand and appreciate how someone who never knew me would willingly give his/her life for me. While it may not have been a personal connection, rest assured, the sacrifice was immensely personal to him/her and his/her family. If we don’t have the opportunity to personally thank a member of the armed forces today, church, let’s at least say a prayer for those we know and their families. May God bring them all home safely.
The sacrifice of our soldiers reminds me so much of the sacrifice that Jesus made too. The parallels are numerous: dying for those who didn’t/don’t/won’t appreciate you, bravely facing death when the opportunity to flee exists, sacrificing your life for the continued freedom of so many. However, while we should undoubtedly remember what our soldiers have done for us on this Memorial Day, as Christians, every day should be spent thanking Jesus for the new life he’s given us through the cross and the resurrection. Christ’s sacrifice is the reason we can live the lives of freedom, joy, revelation, and peace that God offers us every day. His freely offered submission to death on a cross is the reason we are sitting here today under the grace of God.
In Galatians 2:20, Paul states, “I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I now live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.” Earlier, I mentioned how there is typically personal connection with the soldier who died for us. But with Jesus, even as he was going to the cross, he knew us and loved us (John 17). His connection with us was intimately personal. And so, today, we thank you, Lord. We remember what you’ve done on the cross. And like Paul, we say let us live lives by faith in you.
From Pastor David’s Heart
May 25, 2014