Why NOT Celebrate Memorial Day?

Memorial Day is a special day in which many Americans remember men and women who gave their lives and shed their blood for our freedom and for the freedom of other nations threatened by tyrannical powers.  Yet there is an increasing number of Americans who are being educated and indoctrinated with the notion that the birth and existence of the United States of America as a sovereign nation cannot be morally justified.  Does the United States of America have a right to exist; and, are its fallen dead really heroes?

According to those who question the moral legitimacy of the United States, we ought to question the morality of the British-French-Spanish-Portuguese colonialism in North America and other continents beginning in the 16^th century.  Colonialism, they argue, resulted in the eviction of native tribes from their homes in North America, Africa, Australia, and other continents.  In the 18^th century, were the American patriots morally justified in defying British rule to establish the United States through the American Revolution?  How about the blood spilt by both the North and the South, by Republicans and Democrats alike, to determine whether to abolish or defend slavery, respectively?

 

All of this makes for provocative discussion.  So, why not go further back in history, before the beginning of colonialism?  Here, we may want to question the morality of the tribal cultures that waged war against each other and dispersed from the Middle East (the Tower of Babel? Genesis 11: 1-9) into Africa, East Asia, and North and South America to establish and defend their territories.  And, as we question the morality of human behavior in early human history, maybe we should ask about the origin of moral standards in the first place. If humans simply evolved from a line of the more rational and intelligent primates, then who is to say that there are any right or wrong standards for moral behavior?

What we may have to admit is that making moral judgments about human history is impossible unless we consider the records of “His story?”  The Story of God’s creation and dealings with humankind as recorded in His special revelation, the Bible?  In “His story,” we read that our ancestors’ first injustice wasn’t colonialism, or oppression of ethnic minorities, or war, or the industrial revolution and the use of fossil fuels.  Instead, it was the moral choice to disregard the lavish provisions and moral principles provided by a loving Creator God as explained in Genesis 3.  This is the account of the first sin (rebellion against God) in the Garden of Eden. 

But, God did not give up on fallen mankind in spite of our miserably poor stewardship of His abundant provisions for life on Earth.  Instead, God unfolded His master plan in which Jesus Christ, His Son, would come from Heaven to purchase us back from the slavery of sin so that we, by faith in His righteousness, might share in His Eternal Life. 

The cost of God’s purchase of our eternal souls from eternal damnation was very great.  The psalmist (Psalm 49: 7-9) explains that it is impossible for humans to save themselves from the curse of sin and death:

No man can by any means redeem his brother
            Or give to God a ransom for him—
For the redemption of his soul is costly,
            And he should cease trying forever—
 That he should live on eternally,
            That he should not undergo decay.

The costly price paid by Jesus Christ for our redemption from sin was His own life and His shed blood.  Before Jesus died for all mankind, He was subjected to the greatest injustice endured by any human being or tribe.  His most innocent and pure life was taken by force from another garden (not Eden, but Gethsemane) where He had been praying.  Jesus was then subjected to inhumane accusation and abuse in an illegitimate trial-by-night.  There, He was condemned to a cruel death and crucified on a Roman cross.  But, on the third day, Jesus arose as Victor over sin and death so that, by faith, we too might share in His Eternal Life.

So, as we consider whether or not to be grateful for those who have given their lives for our freedom, it is certainly right to realize that America was brought into existence through much suffering and struggle. And this struggle was indeed among fallen men and women who each believed their cause was the right one—even if their only cause in some cases was selfish material gain.  But, many Americans sacrificed because they believed that the Judeo-Christian moral code offers the only basis for establishing human rights and moral responsibility.  On this moral foundation from God, America is justified in establishing through our Constitution that all humans are endowed with inalienable rights from heaven, including the opportunity for a meaningful life, liberty, and the right to pursue happiness.


True human liberty is ultimately from God through the death and resurrection of Christ and can only be realized by faith in God and in “His story”--in His Word.  But, on this Memorial Day, many who doubt the legitimacy of America and its rightful existence do so because they also deny the rightful lordship of Christ in their lives.  Rather than accept the fact that it was our sin and injustice deep in our depraved hearts that contributed to the inhumane and ugly death of the most Innocent Man, Jesus, on the cross, we seek to justify ourselves by our own good works.  Rather than admit that without Christ’s forgiveness, we deserve condemnation, instead we are quick to criticize our Founding Fathers and all who have loved and died to protect America and other nations against evil actors on the world stage.  Rather than accept the finished work of Christ for our justification, we seek to justify ourselves by identifying with well meaning causes such as seeking justice for minorities or saving planet Earth from climate change.

Today is Memorial Day.  Let’s humbly remember our fallen, dead heroes who gave the ultimate price for our freedom.  Let’s also remember the death and resurrection of the most Innocent Man in all of history, the God-Man, Jesus Christ, who suffered the greatest injustice of all for us so that we might understand our place in human history—in “His story.”