If we are not intentional about remembering, we will forget. (Long post warning...you know the drill...skip it or grab the coffee cup and join me on the journey.)
Freedom isn't free...somebody pays the price. Memorial Day has a bit of an unorganized history. Decorating the graves of loved ones is an ancient custom in many cultures. Loved ones gone, but never forgotten. The roots here in the USA seem to be Post-Civil War, catching on after President Lincoln's assassination. It has evolved into what we know as "Memorial Day" .
This quote from James A. Garfield is from one of the first gatherings at Arlington Cemetery to remember those who gave all for country, freedom and family:
“We do not know one promise these men made, one pledge they gave, one word they spoke; but we do know they summed up and perfected, by one supreme act, the highest virtues of men and citizens. For love of country they accepted death, and thus resolved all doubts, and made immortal their patriotism and their virtue.”
- James A. Garfield May 30, 1868 at Arlington National Cemetery
Yes...they go for the country, but what is a country? It is a diverse population of people seeking to live life to the best of their abilities with the resources, beliefs, opportunities, education, talents and gifts they possess. This country is a true melting pot. It is most beautiful when we blend together as brothers and sisters.
Being "American" has less to do with our roots...and ethnicity...and more to do with our choices and the Constitution that binds us together by our Creator, although we may worship him in different houses and in different ways.
Our ancestors...our forefathers and foremothers of this nation... came in different ways, but they came. The first arrivals discovered there were people already here. Different from them in so many ways...yet they shared meals, loved their families and worked hard to survive. Not really so different, until power, greed, and self-interest seeded wars.
Today... more than 250 years after the earliest ships arrived in the "New World" and discovered they were not alone. Our blending of this nation continues. It isn't always easy when we come from so many different places and belief systems. Still, here we are in this vast land we call the United States of America. We have grown together to make this place our own. We are at our finest when we lay down our differences, bandage the wounded, comfort hurting, and holding hands. Justice and mercy are sisters.
The older I get...the more I am offended by the things that put up walls between us. We can't "right an old wrong" by creating and indulging new ones that...in essence...do the same thing. If we don't learn from the mistakes in our history...we are doomed to repeat them. Only courageously choosing forgiveness brings real healing, for both the offender and the offended.
Our forefathers...our grandparents...our aunts and uncles...our brothers and sisters...our sons and daughters...neighbors and teachers have offered their bodies as living sacrifices to the cause of freedom. We have made mistakes...some of them horrific...but we have saved lives and preserved human life and dignity here and abroad.
To see images of soldiers holding war's smallest victims in their arms always melts my heart. At Olivet (ONU), when the ROTC students are introduced and commissioned, they usually receive a standing ovation. That is respect and honor.
These are turbulent times. The diversity and sense of family in the armed forces is unique. When a "brother or a sister's" life depends on you...and vice-versa...a bond forms. One not easily forgotten or broken. Race, creed, home states...sure they each have roots...but together they are brothers and sisters of the armed forces.
What causes us to put up barriers that divide, separate and hate? What is the root? Is it pride and arrogance? Is it jealousy or ambition? Is it unforgiven anger for wrongs that can't be righted... only forgiven? Are we blinded by "our own rights" that we step on the dignity of another, violating their most basic human rights? Is it lack of understanding because we have never "walked a mile in another man's moccasins"? Is it greed and power?
What about us...as believers in Christ?
Galatians 5:13 states:
"You, my brothers and sisters, were called to be free. But do not use your freedom to indulge the flesh; rather, serve one another humbly in love."
Called to be free...but not indulgent or reckless. We were called to "serve one another humbly in love." Easier said than done, right?
Then in verse Galatians 5:22-23:
"But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law. Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires."
When I look in the mirror today, what is my spirit fruit? Some days I see the good things He is doing, when I allow His spirit to move and work within. Then, there are other days...at the end of the day...I don't even want to look in the mirror, let alone review the things I have thought, said, and done.
I am a work in progress today... and everyday... and praise God he is not finished with me yet!
This passage has an amazing finish with verses 24-26.
"Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit. Let us not become conceited, provoking and envying each other."
Let's dig deeper into that one:
"Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires." Those who believe belong. Those who belong have been crucified with Him. He took the nails. He paid the price so we could have the benefit and the freedom from self destructive passions and desires. He nailed them to the cross so I might be free!
"Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit." If we live by the Spirit and the Spirit lives in us...we can and will "keep step with the Spirit". I love that line. Like the beautiful cadence of souls marching together to the beat, rate, and rhythm of HIS Spirit as we seek to be like him. Think of it as a marching band...or an infantry of believers keeping step. Love that!
"Let us not become conceited, provoking and envying each other." As...this is not who or what we were called to be. These things are not LOVE and these things are not of God...who is love.
He wants us to be free...truly free...as we were called to be. We are called up to the Army of the Lord to spread the gospel. We are called to share and preserve the freedom we have in Him. We are ordered to wear love, justice, and mercy.
I recently heard someone speaking about some of the current struggles facing our nation internally. He noted that as nations go, we are still very, very young. We think we are "mature", but we are really in our "adolescence" as a country. Sometimes we make bad choices and those choices have consequences. It is a rough season, but demise is not our destiny if we remember who created us, who loves us, and choose to love each other.
We must remember who we are, and who we are under. The Constitution is a letter from our ancestors to help remind us where we came from, who created us and guides us, and reminds us who we want to be.
Today...I am grateful...on this end of Memorial Day Weekend...for freedom and the chance to reflect on what it really means to be free.
Today, I am grateful to be reminded of the high cost of freedom.
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