Memorial Day: We Must Again 'Highly Resolve that These Dead Shall Not Have Died in Vain'
On Memorial Day, we honor the American military who paid the ultimate price in service to our country and who were a force for good around the world. I cannot help, too, to think of the many family members who sacrificed their loved ones, handed them over to us to secure and protect the freedoms we enjoy and too often take for granted.
As my pastor led our church in honoring these lost lives on Sunday, I found myself wiping away tears as they, unexpectedly, formed and then spilled over. I’m not new to patriotism or having a deep appreciation for our military—those who lost their lives, veterans still with us, and those currently serving. There seemed to be something deeper this year, though, as we took time to acknowledge the former group. Perhaps it’s because it’s obvious that our freedoms are in incredible danger now, our very way of life threatened, our common sense absolutely being challenged with things we could not have imagined even a year ago.
When I think of what Memorial Day represents, who it honors, I want all the more to win the war against evil we are fighting today. People often talk about what saving America means for this current time and for the children yet to come. But we fight also for those who fought for us—fought and died. Let us make the resolution as President Abraham Lincoln did, obviously for a different occasion but applicable nonetheless—perhaps even more: “We here highly resolve that these dead shall not have died in vain.”
God bless America.
Photo: Unsplash/justincasey76