Memorial Day Forever...

Followers (Of Christ),

 

Memorial Day. It is very ignorant of us when we say  "we 'celebrate'" Memorial Day, or see it as excuse to BBQ weenies. It is better as a genuine pause and reflection of those who died. Most of us are used to hearing it started off as Memorial Day as a day to remember those who’ve fought and died serving in the U.S. military. 

 

Civil War veteran General John A. Logan called in 1868 for Americans to decorate the graves of those who fell during the “War Between the States". While true, Memorial Day as honoring the fallen soldiers of wars is of course celebrated by a great many countries in their own ways and times. For the USA, it actually goes even deeper and further back in history than most give recognition to. Especially if you view that as followers of Christ, the spiritual history of these lands might carry us all back to a process that honored the fallen clear back to lands and spiritual foundations the Hebrew speaking people claimed. Yet, carried on by us here in these lands if our foundation onward truly is Jesus Christ. 

 

We actually find the Biblical accounts of early Memorial Days clear back in Joshua 4:29
“Choose twelve men from among the people, one from each tribe, and tell them to take up twelve stones from the middle of the Jordan, from right where the priests are standing, and carry them over with you and put them down at the place where you stay tonight.” — Joshua 4:2-9 (NIV)

 

Joshua ( ספר יהושע‎ Sefer Yĕhôshúa) is known to us as the sixth book of the Bible. We sometimes humorously think of it as more like a part of the Star Wars series  in the wars, battles, conquest, protecting the lands and belief foundations, etc.. It is a very well researched and studied book of the Bible, the more it is assessed by experts, the date ranges vary wildly from 1244 BCE to 1383, 1485 yet roughly 544 BCE, it's author is said by some to be Joshua, while others say it had anonymous author(s) somewhere in the mix of writings threaded together. We tend to disagree, but agree it is a pretty good account of some of the battles and those who died fighting and were memorialized. We see in the book the battles fought...and they were quite the role-play of defending the foundation of the early Old Testament styled church that lead us to modern Christian faith concepts. That to us, is what memorial days foundations are really about. 

 

 What Is It Really About?

A 2014 picture of he Alton National Cemetery, thanks to the US DOD for the precious picture. "Precious in the sight of the Lord, is the death of his Saints"-Psalms-116:15

Aside from Joshua, there are references to memorials in Numbers, Exodus, Nehemiah, Zechariah, Isaiah, Malachi, Esther, Job, Ecclesiastes, Leviticus, etc and not in that order. Yet our citation above of Joshua is where we really see the battle killed, and specific designations given for combat deaths in such importance. Not glamorizing war at all, or saying war and battle is good, but protecting "the foundation" (Psalms 11:3  "if the foundations be destroyed, what can the righteous do?") is what others sometimes fight and die for. Not all wars or battles are what they seem or what we are told they are for, this is not our role on Memorial Day to discuss, rather each person that died, did so to serve, and to protect our foundations (John 15:13-Greater love hath no man than this, than a man lay down his life for his friends".) We "memorialize" to "endure hardness as a good soldier of Christ Jesus" (2 Timothy 2:3 to the ones that died, so we can instead live.

 

We do not glamorize war, we also know not all or even most wars have much to do with righteousness.  Yet all who fight, and died, served and paid the ultimate price to defend our foundations and deserve their eternal rest and honor. We close with what we regard as a beautiful verse of the yearn of those who served before dying, and died. 

 

 3 Though a host should encamp against me, my heart shall not fear; though war should rise against me, in this will I be confident.

 

 4 One thing have I desired of the LORD, that will I seek after, that I may dwell in the house of the LORD all the days of my life, to behold the beauty of the LORD, and to enquire in his temple. Psalms-27:3-4

 

A wonderful Tribute video clicking here.

 

Blessings,
 
MMM
www.mountainmajestyministries.com
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Mountain Majesty Ministries, Inc
P.O. Box 1375
Westcliffe, Colorado 81252  

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