It's Memorial Day weekend, the unofficial beginning of summer when Emily
Post gave women permission to once again wear white clothing. (I think. I
really don't know this for a fact.) Fortunately our small city is amply
decorated with flags reminding us of what Memorial Day is really about. It
is a day to remind us of the tremendous price paid through the decades that
we might live in a land of liberty.

Memorials are important. Without them we have a tendency to become absorbed
in the now and forget very important things. Christianity has many
memorials. Jesus established many of them for us. The last night He was
with His disciples He explained to His disciples the real significance of
the Passover bread and wine. They are memorials of His sacrifice for us that
we might live forever.

There is baptism, a memorial of the death of our old, sinful self and the
rebirth of someone filled with the Holy Spirit and dedicated to continued
spiritual growth.

There is the Sabbath, a memorial of creation. Each week this memorial
reminds us that the God who died for us is the very God who created us. He
has taken responsibility for His wondrous creation. See Exodus 20.

Easter Sunday is a memorial of His resurrection. He conquered death and
promises if we will have faith in Him we too shall conquer death. How
grand.

Christmas is a memorial of His advent. It does not matter that we do not
know the real date. What matters is that we establish a memorial lest we
forget.

Memorials are important for us. We must stop our regular life activities
and remind ourselves where we have come from and where we are going.