Chaplain's Corner - Memorial Day
Remember
This weekend we celebrate Memorial Day – a day first observed on May 30, 1868, as Decoration Day to honor those who died in the Civil War. Now, on Memorial Day, we honor the memories of all those who have died in the military in the service of the United States.
People place flowers and flags on the graves of military personnel. Many organizations, including Boy Scouts, Girl Scouts, and fraternal groups march in military parades and take part in special programs.
How many of America’s bravest have died in gaining and protecting our free way of life? 1.3 million American service members have been killed in war since this nation declared independence 250 years ago.
You might understandably ask why so many have been willing to be in harm’s way down to the ultimate sacrifice. What’s so important, so vital about America to evoke such patriotism and loyalty? What makes us even remember? What is the cost of so great a concept as our freedom?
For an answer that helps us remember, let us turn to the story of another nation - one like our own. It’s the story of a nation coming out of an oppressive bondage to seek freedom and their own land.
Two thousand years before the birth of Jesus Christ, the descendants of Abraham were living in Egypt. Abraham had been promised they would have Canaan, the land we now know as Israel. However, the king of Egypt, Pharaoh, managed to enslave Abraham’s people. For 400 years, Israel served Egypt as slaves. Then came Moses!
God’s people were released into the Sinai desert, bound for the Promised Land. There was a 40-year detour in that desert, as the disobedient children were disciplined to learn how to better follow the God they said they wanted to serve.
When it was finally time to go into the land, occupying it as the nation of God, Moses gathered all the families together and gave them God’s charge that they remember:
Deuteronomy 8:18 – But thou shalt remember the LORD thy God: …
This one sentence gives us insight into why Americans have been giving their lives on battlefields for more than two centuries. Some died unwillingly, conscripts who served only because they had no choice.
Some died accidentally, absent of any so-called heroic or higher motive. However, an overwhelming majority died valiantly, willing to pay the ultimate price for a principle. That principle is freedom.
As a nation we have been committed to guaranteeing a free society. As a nation we have discovered that no freedom comes at a cheap price. Our spiritual freedom cost God the blood of His only begotten Son, Jesus.
In this nation, our forefathers carried out that principle. As the hymn has it, “As He died to make men holy, let us live to make men free.” Americans take freedom seriously!