We Should Never Ever Forget

Memorial Day is a special holiday and unfortunately an increasingly neglected one. In the United States it started in the 1860’s as a day to remember and decorate the graves of those who died in the Civil War. After WWI it changed to memorialize those who died in any of the wars the United States was in.

The concept of honoring those who fought and died is an ancient idea. In fact 1 Chronicles 11 and 12 is such a memorial. Those chapters recount David’s “Mighty Men” and those who supported him. Reading those names today reminded me of part of the service at the local VFW where they read the names of those who died in past wars or served and have since died.

Thinking of that transformed slogging through a lot of hard to read names into something meaningful to me. I realized that those men fought and died for their families and homes too. It was no longer an almost meaningless list of names, but real men with real struggles where defeat often meant the slaughter or enslavement of your family.

As I reflected on the list I came to realize that these men helped accomplish many things. Among those things was establishing David in his kingdom and maintaining that kingdom. God used them in His plan for David and that plan included a line that culminated in Jesus Christ. So I realized that I should be thankful for these men who lived such a long time ago and who had some very strange sounding, to me, names. Ancient Israel was thankful, and memorialized them in these two chapters.

Today we need to be thankful as well. We should be thankful that these men did their part in the affairs on their nation and in establishing David’s kingdom. We should be thankful for the sacrifices so many have made since then, so that we can enjoy the freedoms we have in this country.

Also, we should be thankful for the faithfulness and sacrifice of another type of warrior; the spiritual warrior. Here too the Bible can point the way for us. Hebrews 11 is a listing of spiritual warriors. There are different kinds of wars and it is good to remember and be thankful for these warriors too.

These spiritual warriors include the ones in the Bible like those in Hebrews 11. Spiritual warriors from History you might know of like Martin Luther, John Knox and some you might not know of but who profoundly impacted the Church like Conrad Grebel and Michael Sattler. It also includes ones today, many of whom go unnoticed and I am afraid unthanked by us today. Spiritual warriors like those who pray, teach, work with youth, and many more.

So this Memorial Day, and every day, remember the reality that is behind those lists of names in the Bible and on the different monuments in our towns. Remember the realities involved in the missionary stories. Also cultivate an attitude of thankfulness toward these people and toward those who are still with us.

Written by Rev. Daniel B. Baker May 2007



Articles by Rev. Daniel B. Baker :: Webmaster: Joseph I. Baker