Monday was “Memorial Day” … a day set aside to remember all veterans, past and present, who have lost their lives in the line of duty. “Memorial Day” was a solemn day of remembrance for everyone who has died serving in the armed forces — those who lost their lives for the freedoms that we have, whose families are without them; grieving widows and widowers who visited cemeteries to reflect and remember these heroes who paid the ultimate sacrifice.
Flags were waving, crowds were gathered, wreaths were laid at gravesites as we bowed our heads in honor of these veterans of whom I give my deepest respect, and I want to say “thank you!” We ought to thank God for them; to REMEMBER, to reflect upon the reason for the holiday; these men and women gave their lives for our freedom.
My friends, in life, we ought to remember those who have helped us along the way; those who blessed us, those who sowed into us; don’t forget those who lent us a helping hand when we were struggling; prayed for us when we were in a bad place.
But all too often, we forget things that we need to remember. You all do know that people will forget what you do for them; the favors that we do for them. You can go out of your way for them; bend over backward just to help them and they will forget; people will get amnesia when it comes time to paying back money that they borrowed and promised to give back and won’t do it; they “crossed their heart and hoped to die”, then turn around and told a lie, and still didn’t do it!
Community, sometimes even the children will forget what their parents did for them.
I repeat that there are some things that we need to remember, but all too often we forget. But I have to say right here that there are some things that we need to forget; the power to remember can do us harm if we hold on to things that we need to let go. If a brother or sister, our spouse or our enemy, ask us to forgive them and we say that we do, we need to let it go.
Remembering can work against us when we remember the wrong thing and we keep bringing it up and holding it in our hearts. Just let it go and then we need to forget the sins of the past once we have confess them (1 John 1:9), We cannot allow our past to cripple our future and we can’t allow anybody else to cripple our future as well. Anybody that brings up your past and holds it against you, remind them that they have one too!
The second reason I say we need to remember is because we need to remember what the Lord has done for us; and by that I don’t mean that it has been erased from our minds; but we forget in that we don’t show appreciation to Him as we should.
Every day is Memorial Day when it comes to remembering all that the Lord has done. Too often we forget; yes, even though we have the power to remember, we get amnesia when it comes to just how good the Lord is.
I wonder how many of us when we woke up this morning remembered to give God thanks? We had some rough storms the last couple of weeks, but we made it. The nation of Israel had an amnesia problem; this nation, whom God chose to be his people, He called them by their name and identified Himself with them; they were the apple of His eye; He heard their groanings in Egypt and sent Moses to deliver them from under the bondage of the Egyptians.
They should have been singing “God is good all the time!”
We all know about the plagues that God sent; the death of the first born of the Egyptians; they were under hard taskmasters, but God brought them out by a mighty hand. Yet out of all that God had done for them, they forgot Him, they turned their backs on Him and, as a result, they are now in captivity.
Community friends, when people burn and stomp on the American flag, they forget that somebody laid down their life for their right to do that; it’s disrespectful and I know that we don’t live in a perfect country; but none of us are perfect either! Somebody laid down their life and that flag represents that.
In Luke’s gospel Jesus went to Jerusalem, but he passes through the midst of Samaria and Galilee; and as he enters a certain village 10 men who had the dreaded disease called leprosy met him, and they lifted up their voices, and said, “Jesus, Master, have mercy on us (Luke 17:11-17).” They were all healed but only one came back and gave thanks (verse 15,16).
My friends, we need to honor the fallen soldiers, but I hope, that those of us that make it through this pandemic, get our jobs back; those who recover from the disease and those of us that don’t get it; those of us that have been shut up; I hope, that when this is over, that we won’t forget; that we won’t get amnesia; but that we will come back to God’s house on Sunday morning, fall down at His feet, and give Him some thanks.
May we all say, “I will remember!”
The Rev. George Ellis is pastor at Union Grove Missionary Baptist Church.
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