A Nation Remembers

As we approach this Memorial Day weekend, I wonder how many of you are like me. I never served in the military, nor did any of my brothers -- or my cousins, nephews or nieces. That was my parents' generation.

All but one of my mom's brothers served in the military (he had TB and couldn't serve); my dad and all his brothers served in WW II and Korea. We even lost one in battle. My dad's brother Roland died from wounds he suffered on Iwo Jima in February 1945. Dad learned about it the night before his confirmation.

I remember walking into my grandma's living room and seeing the row of pictures on her wall. All six of her sons in their dress uniforms. It made a huge impression on me. I also remember she had a kind of shrine in place for Roland. Looking at his picture as a kid, I thought he was so grown up and old. But in reality he was around 20 years old when he died: the same age my son is now.

That's why Memorial Day always makes me pause for a moment and remember how this special day has a somber edge to it. I can't think of it as just the weekend that kicks off summer.

If Memorial Day doesn't have that kind of personal connection to you, then just consider world events which show how important it is that young men and women are willing to answer the call to protect our country. In so doing they sacrifice their precious time, their strength, and sometimes even their lives to defend us.

It would be nice if it didn't have to be that way. It would be great if young men and women didn't have to leave their families to fight for us, to suffer physical, emotional and mental trauma that can last a lifetime. It would be wonderful if none of them had to give the final sacrifice and never come home. But evil is real, and there are definitely people who want to attack our way of life.

That's why this Memorial Day needs to hit home. We need to remember and honor those who made great sacrifices so we can live free. To honor them we need to make our lives count; we need to make sure their sacrifices weren't in vain.

Of course, this honor due is even more important in the case of our Savior: the One who made the ultimate sacrifice for us all. The deaths of the men and women we will honor this coming Monday protected our earthly freedom, but Jesus laid down His life to protect our eternal liberty, to pay the price for our sins, to guarantee us eternal life in a perfect world where sin, crime and the ravages of war will be no more.

What's Memorial Day mean to you? Are there those you know who've paid heavily for their acceptance of the call to serve in the military? Are you one of them?

This coming Monday, Memorial Day, our nation honors the men and women who have served in the Armed Forces of the United States of America. May God bless them richly.

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