A claim was made that the first Civil War soldier’s grave ever decorated occurred in Warrantor, Virginia, on June 3, 1861. From that moment there was a thought to set aside a day to honor all those killed in the war. They called it Decoration Day. The Civil War rocked the country; tore apart families; planting deep seeded resentment throughout. Yet as time went by, and breaking into the 20th century, America determined to honor all those who had died in battle. Thus the name was changed to Memorial Day: Honoring our fallen soldiers, but as the years passed, Memorial Day became a holiday marking the beginning of summer. The original intent is now almost fully expunged from our collective thought. Parties, outings; baseball and fishing have taken over the day. In a recent poll, only 28% of people correctly said that Memorial Day is about remembering those who died while serving in the military. Among millennials only 5% answered the question correctly.
To serve is commendable and we applaud all those who serve, but to give your life is the ultimate sacrifice from which there is no return. They died in battle. They died while serving. It should make us pause to consider the great price of our freedom. For us to be free, for Americans to live free, men and women had to die. The true cost of Freedom is blood.
Jesus died on the Cross which paid for our sins. Blood was the price for our Freedom. The Bible speaks of it so clearly, “There is no remission of sins without the shedding of blood.” Without Calvary, the Cross; His death, we would not have freedom from sin. We would all be enslaved in the bonds of the flesh, groping in darkness and confusion. It took His dying to make us free and for that we are indebted to Him. Today, we bless our Lord and honor our fallen.
Pastor Jeffrey Harpole