On this Lord’s day we commemorate our Lord’s death, burial and resurrection.  Our Lord died that we might have the hope of eternal life.

“And upon the first day of the week, when the disciples came together to break bread, Paul preached unto them, ready to depart on the morrow;  and continued his speech until midnight.”   Acts 20:7

“Moreover, brethren, I declare unto you the Gospel which I preached unto you, which also ye have received, and wherein ye stand;  By which also ye are saved, if ye keep in memory what I preached unto you, unless ye have believed in vain.  For I delivered unto you first of all that which I also received, how that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures;  And that He was buried, and that He rose again the third day according to Scriptures; . . . . ”       I Corinthians 15:1-4

Today is Memorial Day.  A day of remembrance for all those who died on battlefields that we might rest in freedom and peace at night.  They sacrificed their lives for our freedom.  Christ sacrificed His life for man’s sins.  A perfect sacrifice.

“Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends.”       John 15:13

Memorial Day in the past few years seems to be viewed as a Federal holiday, a three day weekend for working Americans, special sales at the malls and cook outs at the lake or barbecues in the back yard.  Few if any gatherings are made in honor of those who died.

Just as the Lord’s day.  Few realize what our Savior went through to give us hope of heaven.  Without His death on a cruel cross we would not have the hope of heaven, and yet most take these memorials for granted.  Week in and week out many would rather watch sports, go fishing, cook out, shop, or sleep in for the day.  Never realizing they could lose those freedoms.  We have Bibles in our homes which are never read nor studied.  The freedom to study His Word may not always be around.

“Eternal vigilance is the price of liberty.”    ~ Thomas Jefferson

I once heard a preacher say, some call worship, the “habitual ritual.”  Is this how we truly feel about our Lord’s sacrifice.  If you will read the accounts leading up to the crucifixion, and truly focus on what He went through for you, you’ll do things much differently.  What love!  What submission! What selflessness!  What strength! We cannot possibly know nor fathom what He went through for us.  He didn’t have to go to the cross, but He did.  Is it too much to ask or do in commemorating His death each Lord’s day?  Or have we grown tired of it all?  It is a sobering question to ask ourselves!

“Ye said also, Behold, what a weariness is it!  and ye have snuffed at it, saith the Lord of hosts; and ye brought that which was torn, and the lame, and the sick;  thus ye brought an offering:  should I accept this of  your hand?  saith the Lord.”   Malachi 1:13

The freedom to assemble on Lord’s day without fear of someone coming and stopping a worship service, the freedom to go anywhere in our country.  The freedom to choose the schools we attend, the choices we have at grocery stores.  Every aisle is filled to capacity, and all to often we take it for granted, because we have never known what it is like not to have those things.  These freedoms were bought with the price of our men and women in uniform, and often we forget not only them, but our Lord who has blessed a great nation as ours with these brave men and women, and all of the freedoms we enjoy in this country.

When you lie down tonight.  Thank your Father in heaven for living in a country such as ours.  Thank Him for the brave men and women in uniform, who risk their lives so you could be free. Thank Him most of all for His Son who willingly laid down His sinless life for you.  Never grow complacent for what you have been blessed with in our country, or you may lose it all, including your life.  For many tyrants want to take these freedoms from you.

“You know, it’s been said that we just don’t recognize the significant moments in our lives while they’re happening, that we grow complacent with ideas or things or people, and we take them for granted, and it’s usually not until that thing is about to be taken away from you, that you realize how wrong you’ve been, that you realize how much you really need it, how much you love it.”     ~ Scott

Eileen Light