Thank You For________

 

By Adam Faughn     I have been around a number of people (and I have done this myself at times) who have the practice of thanking military veterans. They learn that someone has served in the past, so they say a simple word of thanks. Maybe it is as simple as "Thank you for your service." While a simple statement, it is typically quite obvious that the veteran is grateful and honored by the sentiment of gratitude that is being offered.     This weekend, our nation celebrates a holiday that has a different tone. Memorial Day is a day on which we show a level of gratitude, but it is different because we cannot talk to the ones for whom we are grateful. They have, to use the common phrase, "paid the ultimate sacrifice," and we remember how they gave their lives to serve the country and protect us. We might be able to have any number of ceremonies to remember or to honor their sacrifice, but it is impossible to personally thank any of them.     It is quite common on this weekend to hear some connection made between Memorial Day and the cross, especially in thinking about the Lord's Supper. I have preached sermons along those lines in the past, and I know many others do each year. Comments made before the Lord's Supper quite often draw that comparison, and those thoughts can be both timely and helpful as we center our minds on the sacrifice of Jesus.     There is, though, one huge difference. While there is the very obvious comparison of sacrificing one's life for the benefit of another, there is also one massive contrast. It is this: we can personally thank Jesus for His sacrifice because He overcame death.     While the Lord's Supper is clearly a remembrance of what He did on the cross, Paul commands us to do this until Jesus returns. How can that be? Death could not hold our Lord! The tomb is empty. Death has been defeated.     We often sing a spiritual song that begins with the lyrics, "I serve a risen Savior." Those are very simple words, but few things we ever sing could be more profound. He did die. He made the ultimate sacrifice. But three days later, to quote another spiritual song, "The tomb was found empty." Even if we were absolutely certain of its location, it would do no good to visit the tomb because Jesus's body is not there. The angel, in very simple words, said it best, "He is risen!"     On Memorial Day, I hope each of us will take at least a moment to be grateful for those who have paid with their lives for our freedoms. It is a good and honorable thing to do. Whether you take part in some formal ceremony or not, it is always good to pause and remember what others have done to make this possible.     Regularly, whether you express it in words or not, I hope you will live with gratitude in your heart for those who are remembered on another holiday, Veteran's Day. They may not have given their life's blood, but they served, and we are thankful for their service.     But every moment of every day, I hope that we, as God's people, will be grateful that our Lord and Savior is the only One to Whom we can express both. We should thank Him that He was the ultimate servant, and we should thank Him for His ultimate sacrifice. Because He lives, we can express both to Him. May we realize how amazing what He has done for us truly is

- Adam Faughn preaches for the Central Church of Christ in Paducah KY. He may be contacted through the congregation's website: http://www.centralchurchofchrist.org Visit the Faughn Family blog, A Legacy of Faith