Memorial Day: The High Cost of Forgetting

Memorial Day, first called Decoration Day, began as a response to the carnage of the Civil War. After the war ended in the spring of 1865, Americans began holding springtime tributes by reciting prayers and decorating with flowers the graves of countless fallen soldiers. It was a way to remember those who had given, as President Abraham Lincoln beautifully said, “the last full measure of devotion” to defend their nation.

Three years later, General John A. Logan of the Grand Army of the Republic issued an order to set aside a unique day for Americans to place flowers on the graves of war heroes, and on May 30 of that same year, the first Decoration Day was held at Arlington Cemetery.

After World War I, this special day was amended to include all men and women from our armed forces who gave their lives serving our nation. The name “Memorial Day” became more common and in 1971, Memorial Day became an official federal holiday.

If we do not intentionally remember, then we will forget. If we do not preserve the memory of what once was, we lose meaning, the lessons learned and the victories won.

For example, a recent survey revealed that a shocking number of Millennials and Generation Z do not have adequate knowledge of the Holocaust. When we fail to remember the tragedies, victories, and sacrifices of those who have gone before us, we not only do a gross disservice to their legacies, but we also set ourselves up for compounded failure and even deeper, devastating tragedy.

In the words of George Santayana, “Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it.” We forget at our own peril.

There is an important biblical principle to train our children in the importance of remembering. Jews and Christians understand the crucial importance of remembering in a unique way. They are “memorial people” because the whole of their faith depends upon remembering.

From the stones at the waters of the Jordan to Passover and continuing throughout the Bible, God sets up memorials. For Christians, the greatest memorial to mark our freedom in Christ is the Lord’s Supper. Every time we participate in communion, we hear Jesus’ words, " “Do this in remembrance of me.”

I believe God’s call to remember is more for our future than it is for our past. And the future of the United States depends in large part on how well we collectively remember and cherish what liberty really is – God's hand of blessing upon us and freedom from the terror of tyranny. There is a high cost to forgetting.

On this Memorial Day, I pray that as you take time to remember the valor of those who have given their lives in service to our nation, you would also remember the goodness of God in your own life and his many blessings upon our nation. I pray this would cause you to cherish your liberty in the United States, and more importantly in Christ, and this would give you boldness and hope for the future.

Apostle John writes, “Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one’s life for one’s friends” (John 15:13). May God bless you and these United States of America. But more importantly, may God bless and comfort the loved ones of the brave men and women who gave their last full measure of devotion to this great nation.

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My Faith Votes—is a nonpartisan movement that motivates, equips and activates Christians in America to vote in every election, transforming our communities and influencing our nation with biblical truth. By partnering with national faith leaders, My Faith Votes provides resources to help Christians Pray, Think, and Act to create an America where God is honored in the public square.

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