Remember Who Sacrificed
The Memorial Day holiday encourages us to remember those who have fought and sacrificed for the freedoms we enjoy. It’s easy for me to forget my own family members who have served in the armed forces:
My grandfather in WWI
My father in post-WWII Germany
An uncle who was shot on Iwo Jima, another uncle who who died while piloting a plane
A nephew who went to West Point, another who served in the Navy on Okinawa
Perhaps you, too, have family members who have served, sacrificed, or even given their lives in service to our country. Each Memorial Day, I like to read these words from Rev. Billy Graham, who reflected on a conversation with President Dwight Eisenhower back in 1955:
Some months ago when President Eisenhower was touring the battlefield at Valley Forge and was being shown from one historic spot to another, he made this statement at the conclusion of the tour: “This is where they got it for us.” What did he mean? He meant that those soldiers, and thousands of others in all the wars that America has fought, purchased by their blood the freedoms that we enjoy today in “the land of the free, and the home of the brave.” That terse statement from the lips of our president has rung in my ears for many months. These battlefields of the world today are hallowed and holy to every American, and we pause to give them our highest honors, humbly realizing the sacred trust that these, our war dead, have handed to us.
If you are searching for a thought or a word to share with your family this holiday weekend, I invite you to share those noble words. If you have a family member or friend who contributed to our freedoms through the “purchase of their blood,” I invite you to name them and share their story with the living.
Also, on Memorial Day, I can’t help but to remember another sort of war: the war between the powers of life and death, light and darkness, good and evil, God and Satan. And how that battle was also won through the “purchase of blood” by one particularly fine young soldier. I don’t think it is out of order to remember this battle and to remember the Lord Jesus this Memorial Day.
Again, to quote Billy Graham: It seemed like a futile, hopeless struggle as Jesus Christ took on Satan’s task force single-handedly. The jeers of the rabble, the spittle of the soldiers and the sneering of the people were incidental compared to the inner struggle which was taking place in his soul. But I watch him as one hand is stretched out toward God and the other toward rebellious man, and he makes the connection and says: “It is finished.” He got through for us!
If we are to be strong spiritually, it will be through him. Thousands today are finding a fresh, new meaning of life through him. They are learning to say with confidence, “I can do all things through Christ, who gives me strength.” We can best keep faith with those who have gone before by keeping faith with ourselves, with our highest ideals and with God.
In addition to enjoying some summer warmth, good food, and good times with good people this holiday, I also pray that your memory is guided to gratefully recollect the lives of those who have given us life. This Sunday’s worship at Elmhurst CRC is aiming to do exactly that. Blessing to you on the way!
~ Pastor Gregg