By: Denny

It’s Memorial Day weekend.  For some, this weekend will be just another three-day holiday weekend to travel and get together with family. There will be solemn visits to cemeteries everywhere. Ceremonies will be held, and flowers and flags placed to honor those who died. There will be picnics, parades, parties, and planned celebrations. Officially, it’s a day set aside to remember and honor the brave men and women who gave their lives fighting for freedom or defending our nation. Many died in foreign lands pushing back against those whose tyranny was oppressing and taking away the God given rights for people to live free. Freedom, no matter where it is found or lacking, is worth defending and fighting for. As a nation we have always led the charge with boots on the ground, ships at sea, and planes in the air, giving aid to other nations fighting for their freedom. There have been wars we’ve fought and won with decisive victories. Still, there have been a few which lasted so long many questioned why we were there if we weren’t there to win. Wars should be fought and won quickly, not strung out for years by politicians. Nevertheless, the American Armed Forces have always stepped up to the plate making the world a better place to live for untold millions of forgotten people, because that’s what we do. We will always fight fearlessly, especially for what is ours, and our soldiers will never be forgotten.

Out of curiosity I went online and did some research. One website listed the top eleven wars we have fought and the number of casualties. Listed in order by the least number of casualties to the greatest, they are as follows: Gulf War 1990-1991 (258), Spanish American 1898 (2,446), War on Terror 2001- present (7,078), Mexican American 1846-1848 (13,283), War of 1812 1812-1815 (20,000), American Revolution 1775-1783 (25,000), Korean 1950-1953 (35,516), Vietnam 1965-1973 (58,209), WW 1 1917-1918 (116,516), WW 2 1939-1945 (405,399), Civil War 1861-1865 (620,000). Total casualties = 1,303,705. That spans a time frame of 250 years. If you average that out it comes to 5,214 casualties per year. Today we honor them as a whole, but sadly as individuals, many of them remain nameless and forgotten. They all sacrificed their lives so we can enjoy the freedoms we have today. It’s interesting to note that the war with the most casualties was fought on our soil amongst ourselves. More people died in the Civil War than all the others combined. One reason for that can be attributed to tactics on the field and advancement in weaponry since then.

There is another statistic that many would just as soon forget and not remember. From 1973-2021 there have been 66,459,781 babies who were the casualties of abortion in the USA. That doesn’t include the numbers for the last three years. That’s almost 51 times more than lives lost in wars, and the numbers keep going up every day. There is something intrinsically wrong with a nation that will spare no expense to fight for and free others, yet at the same time kill that many of their own. It’s almost unbelievable. Call it women’s rights, health care, or whatever you want, but it must sicken the heart of God. It should cause us to weep for those who never saw the light of day or had the chance to experience all God created them to be and to live out the freedoms we so often take for granted or forget. God remembers and He does not forget them.

Today, in our remembering, may we not forget the one, namely Jesus Christ, who alone fought and won a decisive victory over sin and conquered the enemy on our behalf. Since the fall of Adam and Eve, every person that ever lived was born a prisoner of war, being held captive by sin with no way to escape. Jesus sacrificed himself for our freedom, not the freedom to do whatever we want, but to be free to do what is good and right. May we always remember and never forget that. Luke 4:18-19 (NIV)(Jesus speaking) “The spirit of the Lord is on me, because he has anointed me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to release the oppressed, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.”    The prison doors of sin were flung wide open when Jesus rose from the grave, because sin and death were defeated decisively. What baffles me is why people choose to remain in a prison that cannot hold them. All they need to do is take the step to freedom by accepting Christ as their savior. Today many will visit memorial monuments erected in honor of those who gave their lives and read their names. There is a day coming when all will stand before God and the Book of Life will be opened and read. Those whose names are written there will spend eternity in Heaven with Jesus. Will your name be there among the remembered? There is no book for those who reject Jesus. Their names and memory of them will be forgotten forever.