Today, we celebrate the fallen that sacrificed their lives for our freedom. Today, we celebrate the men and women who made our freedom their priority. Today is more than the end of a "three-day weekend" or the "official" start of summer. Today, we celebrate Memorial Day.
You may ask, what is a "memorial"? A memorial is an established item dedicated to remind people of a certain event. Memorial Day began at the close of the Civil War. It was established to remind people of those that gave their lives in the Civil War. After World War 1, Memorial Day became an occasion to remember all of those that have died for our freedom.
I was recently asked, "Pastor Brandon, what is a Christian's role within American? How patriotic should a Christian be when America is not mentioned in the Scriptures?" God makes it clear through the Apostle Paul that we should pray for our government leaders. In Paul's first Epistle to Timothy, he states in 1 Timothy 2:1-2 ...that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and giving of thanks be made for all men, for kings and all who are in authority... So we know that as Christians, we must pray for our government leaders. Those whom God ordained to rule over us, whether we agree with those leaders or not.
But Paul doesn't stop there, he continues in 1 Timothy 2:2-4 by stating ...that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and reverence. For this is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Savior, who desires all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth. This is the reminder of our purpose as Christians! We can't get sidetracked by our number one purpose- to share the Gospel of Jesus Christ!
This Memorial Day is a reminder of God's grace in allowing us to have national freedom in sharing the Gospel. May we never forget the sacrifice that our loved ones gave for our freedom. May we honor their sacrifice by utilizing our freedom to be bold witnesses of God's grace. That is the only way that our nation will ever have social reform- the power of the Gospel!