remember

As a Middle School teacher, I was always intrigued by the solemness of our students during our Remembrance Day assembly. These normally robust, energetic and fidgety teenagers would quietly sit on the steel chairs watching images of soldiers, peacekeepers, mothers and veterans displayed on the white screen as the band played. They would stand at attention as the Last Post resounded in the recesses of space and they would close their eyes and bow heads when we stood in silent solidarity for a minute that might have seemed like eternity for some. Such reverence. Such thoughtfulness. Such sincerity. Acknowledging and paying tribute to so many who gave their lives for our freedom. Remembering.

I can still recite “In Flander’s Fields” to this day. When I was a young student, we memorized John McCrae’s poem. I know that seniors I have spoken to remember the ration cards from the war years. My friend’s son remembers his days as a peacekeeper in the Middle East. One senior I spoke with remembered the “Doodlebugs” in England, the bomb with wings from Germany war planes. Others choose not to speak of the atrocities they saw and the pain they endured. Yet we must still remember those who died for us so we could be free. On November 11th, we honor those brave souls. Remembered.

Many young people today have only seen “war” on the big screen movies or television news. Yet the war we are fighting today continues. We fight for our freedoms, our rights and some for their very lives. Our war is spiritual and when both God and the devil fight for our souls, we know there is something very precious worth fighting for. And so this week, as we pause to ponder, let us remember the man who gave his life for us, the ultimate sacrifice to free us from sin and give us life everlasting. Remember.

This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down his life for us. And we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers and sisters. 1 John 3:16