Many today use Memorial weekend to kick off the summer with the end of the school year, vacations, family re-unions, and other such events. Unfortunately, the original purpose of this day has been lost on many. Let us think of some lessons we can learn from this day.

The cost of freedom: many a man has gone off to protect this country never to return home. Families have experienced the sorrow of burying a loved one. Men have gone into battle knowing their chance of survival was minimal at best. At the time of this writing over 3,000 soldiers have died in Iraq. While one may debate the worthiness of this war they can not question the price paid by those that were killed. We owe a great deal to those that have made such a sacrifice for us. Of course when one thinks of great sacrifices we think of Jesus’ death on the cross. His blood was shed for the remission of our sins, Matthew 26.26-28. Just as we can never repay the soldiers of earlier generations so we can never repay Jesus for His love and devotion.

The brevity of life: Life is compared to a flower and a vapor of smoke in the Bible, 1 Peter 1.24 and James 4.14 We measure time in seconds, minutes, hours, days, weeks, months, years, decades, and centuries. Time is one thing we spend no matter what we do. To a child tomorrow is a long time away. To a teenager next year is forever. As we grow older we realize the brevity of life. The year goes by, loved ones grow up and older, and some die. Change is a constant in our lives due to our mortal nature.

The fragile nature of life: man is mortal. I remember my Mom telling me to be careful while leaving the house and responding by saying that nothing was going to happen. Young people tend to think they are invisible. Accidents happen to young people as well as older people. I believe this is what Solomon was referring when he wrote, "The race is not to the swift, nor the battle to the strong, nor bread to the wise, nor riches to men of understanding, nor favor to men of skill; but time and chance happen to them all" (Ecclesiastes 9.11). A few years ago a bridge collapsed on a major highway in Oklahoma. Our family has traveled that bridge a number of times. Fortunately we were not there at that time but some were and they lost their lives. I was speaking to a brother Harold Allen of his war experiences. Harold’s first battle in World War II was the Battle of the Bulge. About 230 men were placed on the front line, of that number about 30 survived. He suffered frost bite and received a Purple Heart for his injuries. Numerous times he was in battle and he remarked how others close to him were captured or killed. One time the stock of his gun was shattered by a bullet on another occasion a tank was aimed right at him and his battalion but it did not open fire. The only way he could explain his survival was, his time was not up. We may feel that life is unfair but time and chance happens to us all.

There is a time to look backward and a time to look forward. As the Apostle Paul wrote, "13 Brethren, I do not count myself to have apprehended; but one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind and reaching forward to those things which are ahead, 14 I press toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus. " (Phil 3). We need to remember the past but to always look forward to our future. One day we will be in the grave, Jesus will return and we will face God in judgment. Let us prepare to face Him and hear "well done good and faithful servant." D. T.