Remembering the Sacrifice
By Tracy Smith
Greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends.
John 15:13
As my kids were celebrating an extra day off from school on May 31, it occurred to me that we’ve lost the meaning of the Memorial Day holiday. We plan for the day off and all that we will do: have a picnic, sleep in, work in the yard or just nothing. Yet, the reason for the holiday gets lost in the shuffle and in the busy-ness of the day.By Tracy Smith
Greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends.
John 15:13
Memorial Day is a day set aside to honor those in our nation’s history who have sacrificed their very lives to keep us free. However, we get so preoccupied with utilizing our extra day of “freedom” from our normal, daily responsibilities, that we forget the purpose for the holiday: to remember and thank those that have sacrificed everything to keep us free.
Aren’t we like that with our Lord, too? We get so caught up serving Him in our church, in our homes and in our community that we forget to stop and actually thank God for all He has done for us. We forget to thank Him for the sacrifice He made on our behalf.
Today, let’s remember to just stop, be still and be thankful for the sacrifice that so many American soldiers have made for our physical freedom…and the sacrifice Jesus made on the cross to keep us free for eternity.
GOING DEEPER:
1. What will you do today to thank veterans for the physical freedoms you enjoy?
2. What will you do today to thank Jesus for the freedom you enjoy both now and for eternity?
FURTHER READING:
John 3:16; Galatians 5:1; John 8:36; Ephesians 5:20
Tracy is a wife and mother of two boys. She is an administrative assistant at Oakwood and serves on the Women’s Ministry Special Events Team.
