Pastor's Blog: Memory is a Terrible Thing to Waste
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With the Memorial Day weekend coming up, many of us are gearing up for the beginning of the summer season. Now that school is out and high school and college graduations have taken place, everyone is already in “summer mode.”
That’s an important frame of mind to develop. All work and no play do more than make us dull people; it makes us stressed people, unable to function at our best. We need our “down time” in order to be up for the opportunities that will come our way when the fall season starts back up.
But let’s not miss the opportunity this weekend gives us to remember those who gave their lives in service to our country. The freedoms we enjoy were forged in the ultimate sacrifice. Every American citizen owes a debt of gratitude to the fallen soldiers who died in the course of their duties. Every Christian owes the same debt for the right that we have to worship as we feel led.
So, how is it that this holiday tends to pass virtually unnoticed, except for the gatherings and getaways the day off affords? The simple answer is that the gatherings and getaways “get in the way” of our remembering the fallen faithful. We become so busy with our own affairs that we become distracted to how our ability to attend to those matters is dependent on the price that others paid to allow us to do so.
That’s why I’m urging everyone to take just a moment and say a prayer of thanks for those who have made our freedoms possible. Such sacrifice is only surpassed by that of our Savior, and pondering one can lead us to an even deeper appreciation of the other. Losing sight of that truth would truly be a terrible thing to waste.
“Greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends” (Jn. 15:13).