Memorial Day

Memorial Day

5/29/16

Serving your country is a huge honor and an even larger responsibility that should never be taken for granted.  The remembrance of these past and present warriors also should never part from our memories, especially the ones that have fallen in battle to protect not only our country’s freedom but for the other countries who share the same ideas and goals.  While no one ever contends war is necessary we must understand that sometimes war is inevitable and must be fought, so the definition of a just war is almost always up in the air for evaluation.  But do we continually place the lost of these wars in our forebrains and voluntarily remember why they fell and what they were fighting for?

The fact that the majority of the younger people in this country believe that Memorial Day is strictly the time of year that marks the beginning of Summer with a grand opening of BBQs, parties, sun and fun all the while not knowing the real meaning of why the holiday was created, celebrated and remembered.  Yes, Memorial Day usually means that the end of the school year and when families have more time to themselves for fun and relaxation and even though this type of activity is supported and should be contributed to, we must never forget the men and women who died to ensure this country’s freedom from tyranny.  But in truth, we force ourselves to wonder if we really understand what transpired when every drop of blood hit the ground when soldiers were insulted with weaponry, it was a terrible price for this majestic setting we currently live and thrive in.

Another fact of today’s societies is that we place so much focus on what we want and how we are going to obtain it.  There are so many poor examples of people who do not wish to work for anything but simple demand a handout of products that someone else has earned.  Sharing is now a command and no longer a gift from the heart which the world tries to sell as an equality statement.  Once again, these things look teasingly good to the eye but undermine the core values of life itself and thus render the truth and origins of Memorial Day useless, which brings me to the truth about Memorial Day and how it really should be a holy day as well.  No, I am NOT advocating for it to be a religious holiday but on the other hand, it should be kept holy in our hearts because it directly relates to what Jesus did for us while He was on this earth.

Many of us love to make comparisons of Jesus’ life to ours, especially the portion of His life when He walked the earth and was performing miracles on a daily basis.  This portion of Jesus’ life is very important and should be continually remembered but in truth, it was not the most important thing that Jesus did for us.  He set a great example for us to follow while we draw breath on this earth but it was His sacrifice that He gave on the cross that provided the absolute supreme offering that God could give to mankind and it is through this process that we should be remembering at all times as we celebrate Memorial Day.

When we place our thoughts and tender our faith on an alive Jesus only, we are limiting the truth of what His mission actually was on this earth.  Nor, should we focus our faith on a dead Jesus either but when we place our hearts and trust on a complete Jesus, the One who was born, alive, died and rose again we must contend that the Memorial Day holiday fits His life perfectly.  Focusing on one portion of Jesus’ life is like having BBQs, parties and the fun and sun portion of the Memorial Day holiday and then ignoring the truth about the most important aspect of how people died to sustain the possibility of whole freedom.  Jesus provided the exact same freedom through the death of His life as the supreme sacrifice for our sins and it is this portion of His life that we need to regain and to replace in our forebrains.

Jesus’ existence here on earth could not have been complete if He did not have the destination of death and then resurrection.  It is through all of these processes that make His life a complete and living mission for everyone who wishes to live under His blood covering.  And as we have a tendency to forget our national holidays and their complete reasons as to their existence, we do the exact same thing when it comes to Jesus and the reason why He walked on this earth.  It is also through this dangerous concept that we allow our enemies to take advantage of our history and then dictate how we react to such present and future insults from them.  Oh, boy when God puts things on this level it drives our hearts to our knees for we can honestly say that we place ourselves into the same category when our spiritual enemy deceives us in the same manner about Jesus. 

To put it into perspective and how important it is to God of remembrance and completeness, we have a great example in the Old Testament concerning this matter.  It deals with the Temple and how the separation between God and mankind was exemplified each day of Israel’s existence.  God did not want this setting to occur nor did He wish it ever into existence in the first place, His first setting after the creation of mankind was one of beauty and level ground where He and His prized creations could converse on a regular basis.  But through our sinful desires, we cause this division and separation which stood in contention as physical and spiritual law.  God wanted His children to understand this division and to know that through the process of sacrifice that Covenant was established and represented the beginning of restoration between God and mankind.

But as time progressed, the practice of sacrifice became a religious effort instead of the recognition of relationship and thus progressed into a partial adherence and a ritual process without any heartfelt truth involved.  It is a true testimony of God’s love and patience for He understood the hearts of His people yet honored their steps of religious sacrifice, up until a certain point of course.  This is the great example that we have to compare how we recognize certain holidays yet forget about their true and complete meanings, and it is through this partial recognition that the Church has lived her life in the service of God. 

There is NO WAY POSSIBLE that we can tell the world about Jesus and what He did for our eternal placement if we do not recognize and live according to His complete existence.  The Church has adopted the relaxed and welfare mentality when it comes to Jesus and what His life meant here on earth.  We have picked His ministry apart for our own choosing to justify our lifestyles based on a biblical standard.  This “biblical” standard is a lie from the pit of hell and we have fallen for this lie 100%.  In other words, we have lost the heart’s desire to enter into the Holy of Holies and are satisfied with staying in the outer courtyard.

I just finished reading a cartoon on a social website that summed up this dilemma in two simple frames.  A father and son were out cooking on a grill and the son had a hot dog on his plate.  He asked his father this question: “How much did this cost?”  The father was looking at the boy when he was asking the question.  The second frame of the cartoon showed nothing but tombstones lined up in a military fashion and had no captions or words present.  It is this cartoon that sums up everything that God wants us to understand about this article’s topic.  If the boy was old enough to ask an intelligible question such as this, he should have been correctly taught as to how much hot dog cost, without referring to monetary conditions.  And if the Church had been doing her job this boy would have automatically known that Jesus’ blood did the exact same thing for our eternal salvation.

It is true that the extraordinary question that one is to ask is this: How much does all of this cost?  The answer to this question on the holiday side, along with the answer to the question on the spiritual side have the same answer, but the majority of the people fail to recognize the correct answer on both accounts.  For us to have everything that we know about today, literally hundreds of thousands of men and women have given their lives as the payment.  While Memorial Day has been traditionally known by different names and has not been around for every single conflict that our nation has fought in, the concept of remembrance of those who have fallen has been and should always be a direct connection in our hearts.  To be honest, one would even argue that if this type of holiday were to be voted on in the present day, its concept probably would not even make it out of a House subcommittee.

The sad truth is that the same situation would occur if someone wanted to present a bill giving God permission to officially exist within this country and what makes this truth hurt more is that the Church herself would refuse to participate on fear of standing up for God.  The Church has forgotten her mission and has deliberately left Jesus’ death out of the picture because it would require a separation from worldly standards and since she has fallen in lust for her serpent, she has no desire to hear the truth again.  If one has a heart after God and sees sin for what it is, then they shall understand the enticement of the serpent in the Garden of Eden and can easily recognize the same patterns being presented by him today.  It is through this portion of non-true remembrance that has caused so many hurts and devastation within the Church that she too places a false outward face that she shows the world.

Humanity has never completely understood the concept of war because we continue to replay its designs every year.  All of the biblical texts have a warlike theme as well and even the concepts of war are presented in the Old Testament.  The physical concerns of war probably will not go away anytime soon and if the truth be known, this concept shall only increase; simply because God’s Word is accurate on these measures.  If we could only truly grasp the truth about what war we should really be fighting there would be no need for inaccurate war speeches about human history.  If our hearts were focused more on God and how to keep His laws and Him first in our lives, He guarantees that physical wars would cease.  Physical wars send people to their eternal settings long before they should, which means that our enemy is having a field day with keeping our hearts from understanding exactly what the death of Jesus means.

We could end the debate on wars with one realization and truth, seek God first and place Him first in our lives.  If we place His Word and the study of His Word – without human interference – all physical wars would cease.  However, it is clear that the Gettysburg Address, MLK speeches, Eisenhower’s 6/6/44 decree to the troops and to the world shall continue because we refuse to understand what God intended for our human mission.  It is also clear that God’s hands and feet are not working either, for her body has been enticed by the world that can only offer such warlike chaos. 

So, since it looks like we will continue to push God out of our societies, it will be safe to guess that the wars shall continue and the number of people who die in conflicts shall also continue to rise on a daily basis.  We say we want peace and to end all suffering of humanity while rejecting the only option that can really end these indecencies; from this action, it is a reality that we have really forgotten what this holiday means and why it was established.  It pains me to know that our country, as with many other countries around the world, have adopted such a holiday or ones with similar settings such as Memorial Day for the purpose of remembering the sacrifices of their countrymen and countrywomen, but as my heart continues to witness physical death from soldiers, it grieves my heart for these who have fallen. 

I can only pray that our nation may one day turn back to God and have a true fighting chance of ending world hatred for their fellow mankind.  As a testament to God’s Word, this setting shall NEVER come to pass as long as the Church is in her continual way of accepting world policies and along with her failure to recognize and understand the true convictions, origins, and dominion of this country our nation is inching closer to the edge of life.  I also pray that the Church shall once again come to terms and to the realization of exactly what Jesus’ life and death meant for our eternal freedom.  The sacrifice of God’s Son exemplifies the true meaning of the spiritual “memorial day” and one that should never come in any place other than first in our lives.

On the origins of the holiday of Memorial Day I have never been too fond about, but I am sure glad that there were brave men and women who answered the call to fight for what we have today.  I totally respect each and every one of them who paid the ultimate price for their volunteer status and I shall defend their actions until the day I draw my last breath.  While I do not like this holiday, I shall always celebrate its meaning and teach my children and grandchildren the ethics and truth behind its creation, establishment, and memory.  In no way am i saying that families and friends should not come together and have a great time during this time of holiday, but in order for us to make the origins of this holiday ring true to the world, we cannot afford to forget those who died so that we can have this opportunity.

My teaching of God’s actions concerning His Son’s sacrifice to my children and grandchildren shall be even greater than that of my country’s for I know that the eternal calling is far greater than the physical.  And as my heart and body proudly stand in complete and honest remembrance of this country’s holiday I shall keep all of the men and women who died close to my heart.  And with greater pride so shall my spirit stand tall and proudly to proclaim to the world, both physical and spiritual, proclaim the real reason that Jesus came to this world and that I shall NEVER forget His sacrifice on that Memorial Day, nor shall I prostitute His blood and the meaning of what it gives through the price Jesus paid.  I humbly want to thank every veteran who gave their life for me and my family’s freedom.  I also want to especially thank Jesus, my Lord, and Savior for choosing to fulfill His mission by sacrificing His life for my eternal freedom.

DLB