Hi friends!
Memorial Day weekend is here! And that means hectic traffic, busy restaurants, and lots of lobsters pretending to be people (such as I will be if I forget my sunscreen…). And it also means family events and fun times and food! Oh, glorious food… barbeques, fish fries, cookouts… It seems like I’m forgetting something (not the mustard- I have that, I checked).
And I think it’s something we all forget, all too often. But luckily, the very name of the holiday reminds us- Memorial Day. That’s what it’s really about. But… memorial of what?
Gifts. We’ve all received them from time to time. They often come wrapped in colorful paper, but I’ve learned that they best ones usually don’t. People worry about getting the perfect gift for a birthday or Christmas or an assortment of things. But do you know what the best gift a human can give another is (in my opinion)?
Blood. I know it sounds weird, but if you really think about it, it is the very definition of the most selfless gift one could give. Leviticus 17:14a says “For the life of every creature is its blood: its blood is its life…” When you put it like that, it’s pretty obvious- blood is the gift of life. I’m not saying all of this to campaign for the Red Cross blood drive, but I do have the highest respect for blood donors- they saved my dad’s life, and they save countless more every day. If you want to give blood- please do it! It’s a very selfless act that saves lives, and you have my undying admiration for sacrificing for that cause.
But blood donors aren’t the only ones who give the gift of their own blood. Memorial Day is a holiday dedicated to honoring the soldiers who have given their lives for our country. These people have given the gift of life and freedom to us, and they deserve our respect for being so willing to sacrifice everything for people who often aren’t very grateful for their service. Soldiers give the gift of their blood to us for our protection and freedom. They may not save lives by directly transferring their blood, like the blood donors, but they save millions from the annihilation and desolation of war.
These people all give the greatest gift they can. But God can give an even better gift- eternal life! You see, Jesus gave his blood as a gift to us as well, and as 1 John 1:7b says, “…the blood of Jesus his Son cleanses us from all sin.” He sacrificed his life for every one of us, sisters. I know we’ve all heard it many times, but take a moment to think about how AMAZING that is! Very few people in life would die for another- perhaps if the “other” was a parent or a child or a spouse or a best friend, if anyone. But Jesus died for everyone in the world- everyone who ever was or will be. That “everyone” includes people who hate Him, people who scorn Him, and people who don’t even know who He is. But Jesus gave the gift of his blood- eternal life and cleansing from sin- to all of them and to us as well.
Freedom is not free, and neither is eternal life. But they are both gifts given to us- gifts paid for with blood. So this Memorial Day, let’s not get so wrapped up in the barbecues and cookouts that we forget what the holiday is really about. Let’s take this holiday to honor not only all of those brave men and women who served our country but also Jesus, who gave His life for us as well.
Let’s never forget the sacrifices people have made to give us that gift of life. Especially not the sacrifice of the One who gave us the greatest gift of all.
Let’s keep our military in our prayers this Memorial Day. And enjoy the barbeque!
Mia
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