Memorial Day
May 26, 2017“I really wanted to go but they wouldn’t let me” is how Garth recalls his Vietnam War experience. This statement shocked me a little as I couldn’t recall hearing of anyone ever express a desire to serve in the jungle half way around the world. Garth had several friends a year older than him in High School who were drafted shortly after high school. When word got back that one of “the boys” had died in battle, Garth said it made him want to “go and fight”. Then the next one dies and the desire intensified. Although he was using their death as the catalyst to fight, the army found his expertise to be just what they needed in a highly classified position that remained on American Soil.
This weekend, our hearts and minds are turned towards those brave soldiers who lost their lives in war theaters stretched near and far. These men and women embody John F. Kennedy’s well rehearsed “My Fellow Americans, ask not what your country can do for you, but what you can do for you country”. We use their sacrifice and death to be thankful for the country we call ours and to be vigilant in keeping evil at bay. Make sure you show your gratitude to these warriors whose life is the foundation for a lot of what we hold dear.
While the focus this weekend is on our Armed Forces, let me encourage you to be thankful for God’s blessing in allowing us to be born here. America is a great country with freedoms that a lot of people can only dream of. Use this holiday weekend to remind yourself of the high cost of our freedom. John 8:31-36 ties true freedom to belief in Jesus Christ. The cross offers freedom from sin and death. It’s quite humbling to realize that our governmental freedom and spiritual freedom have been bought through death. Allow that humility to bring about genuine appreciation in your heart. When you do, you’ll never regret it.
Pastor Dave.
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