Memorial Day has been one of my favorite holidays over the last few years. Our tradition has been to wake up early each Memorial Day to go fishing with a veteran at church; then cap the day off with a fish fry with church family. For some, however, conversation of Memorial Day has become a mess of a moral dilemma.
Pacifists argue that Christians should be about peace citing Jesus' words in John 16:33, "in me you may have peace" and Matthew 5:39 "turn the other cheek." Militarists counter with Jesus words in Matthew 10:34, "I did not come to bring peace but the sword" and Romans 13:4 "For he is the servant of God, an avenger who carries out God's wrath on the wrongdoer." Our generations aren't the first to struggle with these moral messes.
How do we wrestle with living in a fallen world in light of this dilema? How do we deal with Memorial Day, a day as old as the Civil War, that honors the sacrifice of soldiers?
For me, on Memorial Day, I simply strive to honor the words of Jesus in John 15:13, "Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one’s life for one’s friends." For anyone who has sacrificed life for your freedom, you can rest assured that honor is due them. Whatever your hand finds to do on Memorial Day, at least spend time honoring the greatest soldier in the Lord's Army to lay down His life for you, Jesus Christ.
by: Topher Wiles
