Never Forget the Price

May 26, 2008

By William E. Richardson

“How the mighty have fallen!” (2 Samuel 1:19, NKJV).

The report came to David from the battlefront. King Saul and Jonathan were killed fighting the Philistines. David lamented their loss (see 2 Samuel 1) with a tribute to their skill and valor. They had served their nation well. They had given their all, dying “in the midst of the battle” (verse 25).

Three times in his tribute, David used the phrase, “How the mighty have fallen.” Those words describe our Memorial Day feelings about Americans who have died in battle. We offer tributes each Memorial Day. We honor our fallen warriors in various ways. We visit cemeteries where Americans who have sacrificed their lives to preserve our freedoms are buried. We put small American flags on their graves and fly large flags above them. We listen to and applaud patriotic music and speeches. Our fallen mighty deserve it.

This tradition of tributes began as Decoration Day. After the Civil War, both North and South felt the need to honor their fallen soldiers. Nearly 620,000 Americans gave their lives in that war. After World War II, Memorial Day was more widely observed to honor our dead from all the wars we had fought.

We shouldn’t take lightly what the freedoms we enjoy cost our brave men and women. They often faced severe weather, disease and the constant prospect of death (in fields, forests, deserts, in the air, on the water and under it). Often with gut-wrenching fear, they resolved to fulfill their patriotic duty.

For every Christian, Memorial Day can also remind us of two other timeless realities, both of which we should never take for granted. The first is that we owe a great debt to Jesus for dying on the cross for our sins. He fulfilled His mission. We will never be able to repay Him for purchasing our spiritual freedoms. The second timeless truth is we’re challenged to fulfill our mission in service to Jesus. We are called to represent heaven with no less devotion than that of a soldier on the battlefield.

Memorial Day is a day to recall with great appreciation all who gave their lives to keep America free. Memorial Day is a day to recall and rededicate ourselves to whatever price we are called to pay as citizens of heaven’s kingdom.

— William E. Richardson is senior pastor of Afton (Iowa) Assembly of God.