I spent a portion of the day today at the cemetery visiting the grave of my father. While I was there, I saw a great number of people coming and going, along with some special military celebrations. Memorial Day is a great time for us to remember what others have done for us in gifts of sacrifice. The things we enjoy so freely in this country have been bought with a terrible price; the blood of so may of our brothers, fathers, grandfathers, uncles, and cousins. As I stood by my Dad's grave thinking of the sacrifices he has made and as I looked around at the others paying honor to their loved ones, I thought about the terrible price Christ paid for us. Isaiah tells us, "He was wounded for transgressions, bruised for our iniquities . . .by his stripes we are healed." Christ paid the ultimate price for our eternal freedom. Because of His work, the death I saw around me in that cemetery today does not have to be the end. The poet John Donne wrote:
Death, be not proud, though some have callèd thee
Mighty and dreadful, for thou art not so;
For those whom thou think'st thou dost overthrow
Die not, poor death, nor yet canst thou kill me.
From rest and sleep, which yet thy pictures be,
Much pleasure, then from thee much more, must low
And soonest our best men with thee do go,
Rest of their bones and soul's delivery.
Thou art slave to fate, chance, kings and desperate men
And dost with poison, war and sickness dwell,
And poppy or charms can make us sleep as well
And better than thy stroke; why swell'st thou then ?
One short sleep past, we wake eternally,
And death shall be no more; death, thou shalt die.
On Memorial Day, I remember all the brave men and women who have sacrificed for my freedom, but more importantly, I remember the greater sacrifice that Christ paid so that we may "wake eternally."
For His Glory,
Darrell Baty
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