Memorial Day is the day we remember the sacrifice of the people who gave their lives our sake. What did they do? Well, here is the official proclamation.

Proclamation on Prayer for Peace, Memorial Day, 2019

Whether on the battlefields of Bunker Hill, on the beaches of Normandy, in the jungles of Vietnam, or in the mountains and deserts of the Middle East, brave Americans of every generation have given their last full measure of devotion in defense of our country, our liberty, and our founding ideals. On Memorial Day, we humbly honor these incredible patriots and firmly renew our abiding commitment to uphold the principles for which they laid down their lives. (continued here)

Few will bother to read this presidential proclamation. Fewer will seriously contemplate the fact that hundreds of thousands died to protect their family, friends, and country. Why did these people risk their lives knowing that many of them would die? Are we grateful enough to care?

Why should we care about each other? Why should we be grateful when someone gracefully gives us the gift of their life? Christianity explains what is important about each of us. God loves us. Without the love of God, none of us matters.

Look about. All we see He created. You say we created the skyscrapers, the houses, the roads, the cars,…..? Then look upon an ant hill. Did the ants create their ant hill, or did God create that ant hill when He created ants?

What we are and what we can do matters only because we matter to God. We matter only because God loves us so much His Son gave His life for us.

Psalm 138 New American Standard Bible (NASB)

Thanksgiving for the Lord’s Favor.

A Psalm of David.

138 I will give You thanks with all my heart;
I will sing praises to You before the gods.
2 I will bow down toward Your holy temple
And give thanks to Your name for Your lovingkindness and Your truth;
For You have magnified Your word according to all Your name.
3 On the day I called, You answered me;
You made me bold with strength in my soul.

4 All the kings of the earth will give thanks to You, O Lord,
When they have heard the words of Your mouth.
5 And they will sing of the ways of the Lord,
For great is the glory of the Lord.
6 For though the Lord is exalted,
Yet He regards the lowly,
But the haughty He knows from afar.

7 Though I walk in the midst of trouble, You will revive me;
You will stretch forth Your hand against the wrath of my enemies,
And Your right hand will save me.
8 The Lord will accomplish what concerns me;
Your lovingkindness, O Lord, is everlasting;
Do not forsake the works of Your hands.

Our Lord often chooses to work through us. Sometimes He gives us heroes, brave men and women who care about the rest of us. On Memorial Day we remember the heroes who gave their lives, and we thank God that He makes such people.