Thursday, March 20, 2014
2 Corinthians 5:14-15 For the love of Christ compels us, because we judge thus: that if One died for all, then all died; and He died for all, that those who live should live no longer for themselves, but for Him who died for them and rose again.
THE CROSS: A LESSON IN SACRIFICE
In the United States, the final Monday of May is designated "Memorial Day." This day is set aside to honor those who died while serving their country in the armed forces. Many people visit cemeteries on this day and honor the fallen by placing flowers on their graves. In our nation's national cemeteries, volunteers painstakingly place an American flag on each grave.
We do this because great sacrifice deserves remembrance. It would be an act of most callous ingratitude if we were to simply accept the blessings of freedom, while ignoring the people who died to preserve those blessings.
The love Christ had for all mankind led him to go to war on our behalf. Up the hill of Calvary he trudged, cross weighing painfully on his scourged shoulders. Up onto the cross itself he was lifted, bearing in his sinless soul the hell which sinners had earned by their parade of evil choices. Yes, it was far more than the horror of war, and death, that our Savior endured for us. And it was for more than just citizens of one country. His sacrifice was offered for people of every tribe, language, and nation.
The way we remember this fallen Soldier is different than the way we commemorate the fallen on Memorial Day -- for his grave is empty. On the third day he rose again, ensuring us not only the blessings of freedom from sin, but also the promise of eternal life -- secure and certain because it rests on God's Word.
Great sacrifice deserves remembrance. But the magnitude of Christ's sacrifice, and what it means for us, deserves far more than a bouquet of flowers, or a little flag. Let our response be a life of joyful praise and thanks.
