Monday Morning Encouragement -- No Greater Love Than This

"Greater love has no one than this, that someone lay down his life for his friends."  John 15:13 

After the Civil War, Americans began paying tribute to the over 600,000 who lost their lives in the war; 2% of the population. They decorated graves with flowers, said prayers, and paid their respects to the fallen. This day of remembrance came to be known as "Decoration Day'' and eventually would morph into "Memorial Day", which is now a federal holiday in the United States. Memorial Day is different from Veterans Day in that Memorial Day is a day of remembering the men and women who have died in service to our country, while Veterans Day celebrates the service of all U.S. military veterans, both living and dead.

In response to what Memorial Day means to him, Army veteran Edwin Martinez declared, “Memorial Day is important to me because I honor those who have sacrificed their lives and their family's lives in pursuit of freedom for our nation. What greater gift can one man or woman sacrifice to keep the U.S. free and maintain our way of life?”

Memorial Day is so much more than grilling burgers and trying out a new potato salad recipe. It's more than getting away for a three-day weekend. It's a day of remembrance, a day to honor the fallen, those who paid the ultimate sacrifice so that we may enjoy the freedom we have. “Our flag does not fly because the wind moves it. It flies with the last breath of each soldier who died protecting it.” ~ Unknown

In 2000 President Clinton established the National Moment of Remembrance at 3:00 PM local time on each Memorial Day, a time to pause and remember the true meaning of this holiday. I've got an alert on my phone to remind me to stop what I'm doing at 3:00 today and to pray for the families and friends of those men and women who died in service to our country. At the same time I will remember the sacrifice our Savior made to secure our freedom from sin and death. He paid the ultimate sacrifice on the cross to save us, and we can live the "abundant life" He promised because of His death and resurrection. There is no greater love than this.

In honor of our fallen soldiers, I've chosen to share A Memorial Day Tribute to Those Who Sacrificed Their Lives for Our Freedom by Hillsdale College.

I love you, I'm thinking of you, and I'm praying for you.