05/25/2026
IN MEMORIAL
John 15:13
There is no greater love than to lay down one’s life for one’s friends.
I remember as a little boy going, every Memorial Day, to the cemetery with my mother and grandmother to put flowers on my grandfather’s grave. I didn’t understand the significance of the da, but we were always there.
Before we left we could dive past the Memorial in the center of the cemetery. There were countless flags around an old cannon and lots of freshly planted flowers.
A while back I talked to someone who had stopped in Boalsburg, Pennsylvania, and visited a cemetery said to be the birthplace of Memorial Day. There, three young women—Emma Hunter, Sophie Keller and Elizabeth Myers—began the custom of decorating soldiers’ graves in 1864, while the Civil War was still being fought. They wanted to recognize the contributions of villagers who had paid the ultimate price, and they did it with what was at hand, some homegrown flowers.
The idea of decorating graves caught on, and today, because of the thoughtfulness of Emma, Sophie and Elizabeth, millions of people across the nation this Memorial Day will remember with deep affection those whose lives once touched theirs.
There are thousands of heroic stories that can be shared on this day. These are stories of lives cut short and families losing spouses, siblings, children, and parents. The losses have been enormous, and the freedom that has been preserved is priceless.
One must wonder how we can best remember those who have given their lives for our continued freedom. Jesus said, “There is no greater love than to lay down one’s life for one’s friends” (John 15:13). How can we honor the sacrifices that continue to be made?
Our freedom has come at so high a price we dare not squander it by seeking only to serve our own interests. We are free to live at liberty and pursue the happiness found in seeking to do the will of Almighty God. We can use our freedom as an opportunity to bless and serve others rather than using it to gratify our own desires.
The freedom we enjoy was not purchased with gold or silver but with the blood, sweat, and tears of the ones that we honor today. They died so that we might live!
There was one who came down from Heaven. The God, who put on human flesh, became one of us and gave His life for all of us. While we were dead in our sins and trespasses, He gave His life for us. He was without sin, and He took the judgment of God on our behalf. Jesus came that we might have life and have it abundantly (John.10:10). We are no longer enslaved to sin, but we are servants of God who have been set free to live lives that honor Him and bring peace with God to the world. It was the shedding of the blood of Jesus that won our salvation and His resurrection that sealed our pardon from sin, giving us hope for the life to come!
Indeed, there is no greater love than sacrificial love. Therefore, it is suitable to honor our loved ones and their sacrifice. So may we use the freedom that they bought to proclaim the love of God that is found in Christ Jesus!
As you remember the lives of those, who sacrificed for your freedom, ask God how you can be an instrument of His love.
