Memorial

Memorial
by Pete Berardi

Memorial Day, originally called Decoration Day, is a day of remembrance for those who have died in our nation's service. This is by all means an honorable and very worth reason for a federal holiday. The Bible also speaks of a Memorial. The word memorial occurs thirty-two times in thirty-one verses in the KJV Bible.

Most of the references occur in the Old Testament. These references to memorial are specific events that occur in which God commands his prophets to build a memorial to represent these events. Although these specific events have great significance, there are two events that have supreme importance in which God calls his people to remember. These two important happenings are the deliverance of the Israelites from the Egyptians and the sacrifice that Jesus made for us on the cross.

In the Old Testament, God’s people fall in and out of sin many times. Many times God reminds his people, through the prophets, to remember what he has done for them and to repent from their sins. The oppression of the Egyptians was very great upon the Israelites. When the Israelites were finally delivered, they were great appreciative and full of the joy of the Lord.

When Jesus had the last supper with the twelve apostles he broke bread and drank wine in remembrance of him. That night Jesus was betrayed and he was crucified the next day. This crucifixion is the atonement for our sins. Christians everywhere can remember when they were first saved. Their joy was great and their spirits were high. In many circles this is referred to as “being on fire for the Lord”. It is not uncommon to forget the feeling of appreciation that we have to Jesus for delivering us from our sin and the punishment for sin.

As Christians, we should try to remember the joy that we first had when we were saved. We should share this joy with others for this is our testimony of our faith. Consider this verse:

Psa 51:12 Restore unto me the joy of thy salvation; and uphold me [with thy] free spirit.

The service of our troops is a worthy cause of national remembrance. I claim that as a member of the nation of God, we should remember what God has done for us.