Unshackled Moments ~ May 30 ~ Honoring Sacrifice

Greater love has no one than this, than to lay down one’s life for his friends.

- John 15:13

Today, as many Americans enjoy their day off, barbecues and gatherings, there are so many whose reaction to this day is bittersweet at best. There are families and soldiers (both active and vet) who can not escape the haunting loss of men who came home in a flag covered box, if at all. This is not thank a vet day, that's later in the year, and it is not national barbecue day. Memorial Day is a time to remember and honor the sacrifice of those who died in order to protect and maintain our rights to be free.

We honor them by following their example. Now, most of us, even those who are soldiers, will never be called upon to make the ultimate sacrifice and die for someone else. But we can lay down our lives for our family, fiends and neighbors. We honor the deaths of so many who fought for our freedom today, and hopefully  we respect them every day. And we remember the One man, Jesus, who came and died once, for all, so that we all, every nation and every tongue, can be free and find relationship with our Heavenly Daddy. But do we remember that Jesus gave His life for others long before the cross, years before that final gift?

Sacrifice is more than that final act of dying physically so someone else may live. Sacrifice also means letting our wants, rights privileges, comforts and resources die or be depleted in order to help someone else. We sacrifice and give of ourselves that the needs of others can be met.  What you need becomes more important than my life. Jesus calls us to daily follow Him by giving more attention, care, love, time, and help to others than we give to ourselves.

This dying to self may seem small and insignificant compared with the final sacrifice fallen soldiers gave, but it is important nevertheless. This daily life of service is how we care for one another and lay down our lives for one another, helping each other. It is a form of love and the same spirit that called so many to serve and lay down their lives for you and me. Living a life of freedom and service honors those who fought to give you the right to do that. It also honors the One who died to make eternal freedom possible, who gave us the ability to live a life worth living.

Today, enjoy time with family or whatever you do. But let us remember to mourn with those who mourn and comfort those in need of comfort. Let us pray for the families of those who were lost and for those who served with them, those remembering the fallen falling and carry those images and survivor's guilt wherever they go. Let us remember that to be a Christian means our life is not our own and to be quick to lay it down for the benefit of others in the small ways, in each and every day, as well as the bog ways.

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