Remembering

This weekend we celebrate Memorial Day. For many that day will be filled with picnics, family, and friends. But for a few who lost a loved-one in the recent war Memorial Day now takes on a different meaning.

I trust as an American, somewhere during the memory-building of your weekend you pause to remember those who gave so much for freedom. Certainly to have had the privilege of giving your life for your country is a great honor.

Jesus spoke of giving up one’s life, but with another motivation.

He said “Greater love has no one than this, than to lay down one’s life for his friends. (John 15:13).

Jesus said, it wasn’t for a country that he gave His life, it was for friends. And He wasn’t motivated out of duty; He was motivated out of love.

Isn’t that an incredible thought? The God who created the entire universe, and holds it together (Col. 1:16), is the very one who gave His life for us. Why did He need to die? 

Because the wages of sin is death (Rom. 6:23), and someone who had never sinned was needed to pay the penalty of the sin for those who had.

This Memorial day, as we remember those who have made the ultimate sacrifice, we would do well to remember the Lord’s great sacrifice for those of us who needed a Savior.

Then here’s a question worth considering: For whom are you sacrificing presently? When was the last time you gave up something you really wanted to do for the sake of someone else. Not because they expected it, demanded it, or required it, but just because you loved them more than you loved yourself. That’s one of the lessons we learn from Jesus. No one ever loved more. No one ever gave more. And no one could sacrifice more. He left the glories of heaven to give His life for you and for me.