Arlington is full of memorials reminding us all of the cost of freedom; they also remind us of the demand of it.
Those headstones remind us of the more than one million Americans who have given to the last full measure. – over 100,000 in World War I; over 400,000 in World War II; almost 40,000 in Korea; over 58,000 in Vietnam and over 5,000 have been killed in action since 9/11.
I was impressed by the comments made by a recent Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff speaking a few years ago at a Memorial Day Wreath Laying ceremony at Arlington. Rather than leading the people to consider how they died General Dunsford said of those man and women who are remembered there:
“It’s how these men and women lived that is important. It is how they lived that makes us remember them. In life, these individuals chose to be something bigger than themselves. They chose to accept hardship and great personal risk. They were people who truly embodied the most important values and traditions of our nation.”
The general concluded by challenging those in attendance to leave “with the resolve to strengthen their commitment to our nation and the values for which it stands.”
Today we not only remember those who paid the ultimate price for our freedom as a nation but we also remember the One who died to liberate all men from a tyranny even more sinister than that of a Hitler, Stalin or a Bin-Laden.
When we look upon His cross we think not only about the way He died but about the way He lived, the truths He taught and the purpose in His coming. Even more, we remember that the grave DID NOT have the last word but Jesus rose again and will one day, as promised, return for those who trust in Him.
I mentioned earlier that there was a demand of freedom upon those who enjoy it; that demand of freedom is (in my mind) loyalty to the One who has provided it and sustained it. It is a loyalty that will not shrink back or compromise but will stand fast and refuse to allow anything to steal away that which was gained at such a great cost.
Considering the life of the Lord today, I challenge you as General Dunsford challenged those in attendance at Arlington to strengthen your commitment to the Lord and to the freedom that He procured at the cost of His life for you.
Our gratitude today is to those who fought for our nation and paid the ultimate price for freedom with their life blood and to Him who fought for our souls, paying the ultimate price for our eternal freedom with His blood.
Never forget…
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