I hope we won’t just take today off and not reflect on why, for it should be for all of us a sobering thought.  We in America like to do a lot of talking about rights and liberties when it is convenient, but do we ever count the cost?  Let’s be very clear, human rights and liberties are gifts from God, they are not, and have never been gifts from governments.  When a government, any government, tramples the rights and liberties of its people, it is acting in rebellion against God Himself, and maybe that should be a sobering thought for all governments… but it isn’t of course.

May our leaders think on these things today.

History teaches that there are three kinds of freedom, national freedom, political freedom and personal freedom. America has traditionally enjoyed all three, and we must be thankful for that, and pray that they continue for our children and grandchildren to enjoy. The battle for political freedom which is the right of the people to  choose their leaders, and personal freedom, the right of the people to do as they please as long as they harm no one else, is an internal battle that is fought in the political and judicial parts of our system.  The high cost of national freedom is what we reflect upon today, as we gaze upon the acres and acres of gravestones both here and abroad.

We as a people have paid a high price for national freedom, for without it, there would be no political or personal freedom, and maybe we should consider just how high that cost has been, not merely in numerical terms but in human terms.  Consider the lives that have been cut short, the human potential lost and the hopes and dreams that have perished both among the dead and within their families and loved ones.  If we really reflect on these things, we might well be overcome with a sickening feeling at the human tragedy of it all.  Yet, at the same time, these sacrifices for others are also inspiring.  The valor and bravery of these honored dead must inspire us still to be vigilant, for even now there are forces in this world that would see our national independence destroyed in favor of tyranny.

Let us take the opportunity today to give thanks to God for giving us so many brave men and women, for their heroism and their sacrifices and the sacrifices of their loved ones, and to humbly pray that the time would swiftly come when God’s justice and mercy would reign over this earth, that His will alone would be done in all nations, and that there should never again be a need for brave young Americans to sacrifice their lives in the cause of freedom.