Memorial Day is a time to remember and honor those who have died in service to this country, particularly during wartime.  It's a day for national mourning and reflection, and gives us a chance to express gratitude to the fallen.  The first Memorial Day, originally called Decoration Day, was held on May 30, 1868, at Arlington National Cemetery, just three years after the Civil War ended.  It is now held annually on the fourth Monday of May.

Throughout scripture, God calls His people to remember.  From the stones placed beside the Jordan River to the celebration of the Passover, remembering is more than recollection – it is a spiritual act.  In Deuteronomy 6:12, Moses warns the Israelites, "Be careful that you do not forget the Lord, who brought you out of Egypt."  Memory keeps us grounded.  It ties us to our values, our history, and the people who have shaped both.  Memorial Day invites us to remember – not only names and battles, but the principles for which our fallen stood: freedom, justice, duty.  Their memory calls us to live lives worthy of their sacrifice.

Jesus' words in John 15:13 strike at the heart of Memorial Day – "Greater love has no one than this, to lay down one's life for one's friends."  This is the very definition of sacrificial love.  Soldiers who died in war did not give their lives for medals or recognition – they gave them for people, for communities, for generations to come.  Their deaths echo Christ's own sacrifice: giving up His life so that others might live.  Freedom is never free.  It always carries a price, paid not in dollars but in blood, courage, and selflessness.  Memorial Day reminds us that every privilege we enjoy – our ability to worship freely, speak openly, and live peacefully – was secured at great cost.

Honoring the fallen means more than holding ceremonies once a year.  It means living in a way that reflects the values they died to protect.  The Apostle Paul wrote in Romans 12:1, "Offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God – this is your true and proper worship."  Just as others gave their lives, we are called to live ours in a way that honors God and blesses others.  Let Memorial Day challenge us to rise above selfishness, division, and apathy.  Let it inspire us to be peacemakers, defenders of truth, and servants of others.  Let their sacrifice fuel our commitment to justice, mercy, and humility.

As we remember the fallen this Memorial Day, let us do more than mourn – we must honor.  Let us do more than reflect – we must act.  Let the memory of those who laid down their lives lead us to deeper gratitude and a renewed sense of purpose.  And may we never forget that the greatest freedom of all – freedom from sin and death – was secured not by a soldier in uniform, but by a Savior on a cross.

James Bozeman

Texas Division Chaplain