Worth Remembering

Several of my memories growing up in Racine, Wisconsin, were of going to a large, imposing building on the lakefront called Memorial Hall. Built in a classic Greek style in the 1920’s, it was dedicated to the remembrance of Americans who had fought, and died, in the nation’s wars up through WWI.  It was what we now call an “event center,” being used by speakers, political candidates (including Barack Obama and John McCain), service clubs, and even pro wrestling! My own experiences included receiving polio vaccines and attending an all-you-can-eat pancake breakfast on the morning of my wedding. Unfortunately, due to my nervousness, all-I-could-eat consisted of not more than half of one pancake. (I later learned that Karen had no trouble eating her breakfast at her home!)

I mention Memorial Hall because I remember standing outside and reading names carved into the impressive walls. Most were new to me: Chateau Thierry, Argonne, Manila Bay. Some were more familiar: Gettysburg, Bunker Hill, Yorktown. They all held hallowed meanings as the names of battles from our history, battles where, as President Lincoln said, men gave their “last full measure of devotion” and died for our country.  It was always a little sobering to read those names and think about the sacrifices made.

It’s worth remembering what those men and women gave in those wars, and in the many wars since. We owe them all a debt of gratitude and honor. That’s why we celebrate Memorial Day today, an observance that began back on May 1, 1865, barely two weeks after the end of the Civil War. On that day, some 10,000 freed slaves and their families paraded in Charleston, South Carolina to honor the 257 Union soldiers buried in a nearby mass grave. Similar honoring events were soon held in other towns, leading to nationwide observances of Decoration Day, renamed Memorial Day.

Many have died for their country; many more have died for their faith, specifically the Christian faith. Persecuted for confessing Christ, hounded, tortured, and martyred, they gave testimony to Jesus as Lord and Savior. The world hated them, as Jesus predicted it would (Matthew 10:22 and 24:9) and would seek to stamp them out. Their lives, and their faithfulness to keep, defend, and extend the faith are also worth remembering.

Most of their names are unknown to us, lost to history by their sheer numbers, so there’s no Memorial Hall with their names inscribed on its walls. Yet the Bible does honor them. Besides the specific account of the first martyr, Stephen, in Acts  6-8, the book of Hebrews describes what many have endured before giving their “last full measure of devotion” to Christ. Chapter 11:35-38 reads,

       “Some were tortured, refusing to accept release, so that they might rise         again to a better life.  Others suffered mocking and flogging, and even               chains and imprisonment.  They were stoned, they were sawn in two,               they were killed with the sword. They went about in skins of sheep and             goats, destitute, afflicted, mistreated— of whom the world was not                   worthy—wandering about in deserts and mountains, and in dens and               caves of the earth.”

Someday, I believe, we will learn the names of those many martyrs, for their names are written in the Lamb’s Book of Life. Which means we will also get to meet them personally. We may even get to hear their stories, though there will be no boasting of themselves and their sacrifice, but boasting only in their Lord and that they were honored to die for him (2 Corinthians 10:17, Galatians 6:14).

Remember these faithful people who, in spite of terrible persecution, held to the faith and taught it to their children and others whom God called by the Gospel to believe, passing it down some 2000 years to the present, that we might also believe.

So, as we sit comfortably in our padded pews, warmed and cooled as the weather demands, singing and praying openly without fear of arrest and execution, let us offer a prayer of thanks both for those have fought to preserve our religious freedom, and for those who preserved the faith worth dying – and living – for. And to the Lord who has blessed us in every way!

Now may the Lord bless you and keep you, the Lord make his face to shine upon you and be gracious to you, the Lord lift up his countenance upon you and give you peace. Amen.

Read: Hebrews 11; Ephesians 2:8-10; Acts 7:51-60.