Yesterday was Memorial Day. We spent part of the day attending the local ceremony to honor and pay respects to those brave men and women who have given their last full measure so that we Americans can experience liberty. We always go to the ceremony - or at least have for years. We also take the kids and talk about what it's all about before and after the ceremony. I usually try and point out the various names, as they are read, of family members to make it more relevant to the kids. It was a beautiful day for an outside event.
After the ceremony, when we arrived back home, we sat around the picnic table to discuss another way to think of Memorial Day. As Christians, the bible tells us in multiple places that this is not our home. We are citizens of the eternal Kingdom of Heaven. While on this earth, as American citizens, we get to enjoy the earthly liberty that so many have fought and died to provide for us, as citizens of the Kingdom of God, there are even more people that we can honor on Memorial Day who gave their last full measure so that we can know and experience the true liberty that is only available in Christ.
I don't mean to take away any of the honor and respect that is due to those Americans who have fought for our freedom and liberty here on earth. Like our founders, they sacrificed their prosperity for their posterity. My prayer is that the rest of us would be willing to make such a sacrifice.
However, how much more is the liberty we can experience in Christ, and for ETERNITY, not just temporarily in this life!! Whether we are blessed to live in political freedom in America, or in oppressive political systems, we can ALL experience the true liberty of Christ. We can, because of the ultimate sacrifice Christ made that paid the price for our freedom. We owe debts of gratitude to the men and women who gave their last full measure to advance the Kingdom of Heaven and the liberty that it provides. Without their willingness to answer the call and say "here am I, send me" we would not have the opportunity to know that freedom, to experience that liberty, that is so much more than we could ever experience in this world.
Because of people like Moses, Noah, and Abraham . . . Peter, Paul and John . . . Clarence Jones, Amy Carmicheal and Ida Scudder . . . DL Moody, William Carey and Cameron Townsend . . . Rachel Saint, Nate Saint and David Livingstone . . . among so MANY others, people around the world have heard the Word of God, including those of us in America. Because of people that TODAY make the choice to dedicate their lives to continuing that battle, soldiers/missionaries serving in America and around the world, the Kingdom of God expands and grows minute by minute.
As we honor our American Soldiers, who fight today to advance the cause of earthly liberty, let us also remember to honor, and support, our Spiritual Soldiers who are fighting today to advance the cause of eternal liberty.
If you can't think of, or don't know of, a missionary today that you could honor/help in the cause of true liberty, I can make some recommendations. Norman and Mary Brewer are serving in Albania through Baptist World Missions. You can visit their website to learn more about them at http://www.nbrewer.net/ to learn about their ministry. They always welcome prayer, but if you feel called to help them financially, you can do so through Baptist World Missions' website, http://www.baptistworldmission.org/. Another option I can recommend is Jon and Ann Dunagan at Harvest Ministry, http://harvestministry.org/. There are MANY others. These are just two that I follow and support.
Whoever you would choose to support, whatever ministry speaks to you, please take the time to remember them, pray for them, and support them in any way you can. Just as we honor and support our military soldiers, we need to honor and support our Spiritual Soldiers.
