Nena Arias | May 27, 2019
On Memorial Day, we honor all those who died serving our country. It is a national day of remembrance, reflection and reverence as we consider the high price so many have paid and will pay for our freedoms. We should never take this lightly or for granted and always remember that we can do no less for future generations. Having visited military cemeteries such as Arlington National Cemetery in Arlington VA and the fields of countless crosses in Normandy Beach, France I can assure you it’s like stepping on hallowed ground. So, when we say we make remembrance, reflection and reverence for those who paid the ultimate price it is no exaggeration.
Much can be said of those who are willing to fight for peace and just causes. Especially for those who volunteer to serve in times of war, knowing it is very probable they will be deployed to battlefields from which they may never come home to their loved ones. It takes great bravery and strong conviction of the purpose that moves them to take that life-changing decision. But let us consider that others did it for us and we must be willing to do no less for those who are coming behind us.
They are men and women who have served with distinction in conflicts at home and abroad like rushing into the debris of the World Trade Center to look for survivors and they never made it out, or perhaps in the battlefields of Afghanistan and the inhospitable desert of Iraq.
They are men and women whose families hold them in high honor as real-life heroes, and their country should also. They are men and women who don’t take into consideration their comfort above a conviction and commitment they feel for that conviction.
Just this week, my family and I attended the funeral of a 93-year-old veteran who received military honors. What an enormous sense of pride and patriotism not only for his family but for all those of us in attendance to know there are so many who serve so sacrificially for others.
The greatest sacrifice ever shown to man is the coming of our savior the Lord Jesus Christ who laid down his life to redeem us from sin and death. He showed us the greatest example of what true love really looks like.
The first and greatest commandment is to love God with all of our soul, mind and strength and the second greatest commandment is to love others as we love ourselves. John 15:13 says, “Greater love has no one than this, that someone lay down his life for his friends.”
We owe our lives to God and to the service of others. Laying down our lives for others is serious business and we must count the cost and not shrink back when it comes down to paying that price.
So it is with special thanks that we express our gratitude to all who have died in service to their country. Happy Memorial Day!