Now that my dad's grave is among those to decorate, it is even more profound. I well recall when it was part of his duty to direct what happened in the small park by the auditorium and the job of loading children into the cars with enough white crosses marked with poppies to mark the graves of the dead who served our country. Now others are placing the memorials on his grave and he is one of the many who served and whose service is now honored by a moment of remembrance and a small cross.
Some folks abhor cemeteries. I don't. My wife is particularly keen on them (part of her interest in our ancestors). Tombstones tell us the stories of the dead is often hidden ways. The sayings or Scripture passages carved into stone. The dates of life and death. Those who accompany the dead in that plot. The weathering of the stone and its information. All of this combines to tell us a story not of the dead but of their lives and they are living memorials to a life which, in earthly terms, had a beginning and an end.
Remembering the dead is not morbid. In fact, it is just the opposite.
It is one of the most important characteristics of living that the dying
are remembered with thanksgiving to the Lord. I know that in many congregations one or more of the Easter services took place in the cemetery. Again, this
was not morbid at all. It was a wonderful affirmation for Christians of
something we have celebrated for many, many centuries. As Israel
identified the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob along with an affirmation that this living God was a God of the living, so do we remember with
thanksgiving our fathers in the faith as affirmation of the truth that
they live in Christ.
We do not have any family graves where we live. We live far removed from
family. So being near the graves of loved ones who have died in the
Lord is a privilege we do not take lightly. I hope that we communicate
this to our children. It is love's duty to remember, recall, and
rejoice in those who have died in the Lord and now rest from their
labors. We do have graves of those whose funerals I preached, whose bodies I lay into the dust of the earth, and whose lives I commended to the Lord in Jesus' name. That is the privilege of serving so long in one place -- my ministry has connected me to so many people, so many graves, in so many places. Again, it is not morbid or sad but a testament to the value we place on life -- particularly on this day to the lives given to protect and defend our liberty. Though we know not their names, we know the price they paid. Our every day is lived because of that price paid. Thanks be to God!
1 comment:
Thank you for your inspiring words this Memorial Day. We will never forget what they did for us.
Timothy Carter. simple country Deacon/Former Naval Person.
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