05/26/2026
John 15:12-13 says,
“This is my commandment, That ye love one another, as I have loved you. Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends.”
Today our nation memorializes all those, our friends, who made the greatest sacrifice for us, our security, and our liberties. They paid in their own blood for the things that we enjoy today, and so we mark them as heroes and our greatest friends. Our thoughts are upon them and our prayers are with their families. With gratitude we remember their lives, their deaths, and their great love for family and nation. Truly, this is the greatest act of love that a man can show. No greater love….
Also, there is another whom we must remember and memorialize not just on a certain occasion or a declared day but each and every day. As glorious and heroic the love of country, family, and friends is, the laying down of one’s life for them is the greatest extent of the expression of human love that man can muster. However, Jesus Christ our Lord set an even greater standard of love than this in that He willingly laid down His own life not for friends, but for His enemies.
Romans 5:6-8 tells us,
“For when we were yet without strength, in due time Christ died for the ungodly. For scarcely for a righteous man will one die: yet peradventure for a good man some would even dare to die. But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.”
While we were lost in sin, the enemies of God, it was in His heart to die for us in order to give us the opportunity to be the friends of God. So today, as you memorialize the best of us and thank God for their sacrifice for our nation, remember also the otherworldly act of God through His Son Jesus who loved you enough to die for you even while you were still His enemy. Through His death, burial, and resurrection, He opened the door for all men to be saved and set free, and “whom the Son sets free is free indeed.” His sacrifice isn’t limited by borders, nationality, or race. It’s open and available to any and all. “Whosoever will…”
Revelation 22:17
“….the Spirit and the bride say, Come. And let him that heareth say, Come. And let him that is athirst come. And whosoever will, let him take the water of life freely.”
-Pastor Daniel Williamson