A Time to Remember
I was just thinking about the upcoming Memorial Day. For many it’s just another day off from the workplace. For others, it’s a time for being outdoors with family and friends. Still others will have citywide picnics marking the beginning of summer. Yet for many, it is a time of remembering the sacrifice of those men and women who served their country on the fields of battle. They gave their lives for the cause of American freedom.
A Song of Tribute
One of the most beloved songs is by Lee Greenwood titled “Proud to be an American.” Some of the lyrics say, “And I’m proud to be an American where at least I know I’m free. And I won’t forget the men who died, who gave that right to me.” Memorial Day is not a time to forget; it’s a time to remember. May we Americans never forget the price that has been paid through numerous wars that have enabled us to live in freedom.
Memorials Across the Nation
Memorials are reminders. Karen and I loved to tour Washington, D.C. and particularly to visit the various memorials in the city. The Washington Monument, the Lincoln Memorial, the Tomb of the Unknown, the Vietnam Memorial Wall and 156 other monuments are there to remind visitors that freedom isn’t free. Add to those New York City’s 9/11 Memorial, San Antonio’s Alamo, and of course, New York Harbor’s Statue of Liberty. I want to make it clear that I believe memorials are a good thing.
Important Memorials from the Bible
The first memorial monument was a stone pillar set up by Jacob to commemorate his personal vision received from God (Gen. 28:22.) Joshua, to commemorate the miraculous crossing of the Jordan, set a memorial of 12 stones at the river’s edge. He said it was to remind those coming years later that God provided and protected His people (Josh. 4:21-22.)
I think that is so important when we think about Memorial Day. As a veteran of the U.S. Army, I am proud to be an American, but I am even prouder, and more grateful to be a Christian. That means I am free from the condemnation of sin, but it came at a tremendous price!
The Lord’s Supper — A Time to Remember
Memorial Day comes around once a year, but the Lord’s Supper may be observed as often as a church chooses. Let’s never forget that the supper is a memorial — a time of remembering the cost of our salvation and that the price was paid on Calvary by our Lord Jesus Christ. Jesus took the elements from the memorial of the Passover and instructed His followers to observe the eating of the bread and the drinking from the cup as a time to remember His broken body and shed blood.
The Lord said, “This cup is the new covenant in my blood; do this, whenever you drink it in remembrance of me. For whenever you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until he comes” (I Cor. 11:25-26 NIV).
I’m proud to be a Christian because at least I know I’m free. And I won’t forget the One who died, Who gave that right to me.
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Dr. Tom Mitchell
Dr. Tom Mitchell pens a column titled, Just Thinking, in which he addresses many topics relative to the Baptist Missionary Association. His Trailblazers series provides biographies of many BMA trailblazers from the past.
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