War Memorials

Next Monday we will take one day to remember those who have died for the freedoms we enjoy every day.  It is with some trepidation that I approach Memorial Day.  I have great admiration and deep gratitude for all who serve our country in the armed forces.  But may we never confuse that specific appreciation for soldiers with the wars in which they are called to fight.  Regardless of how one feels about the necessity or justness of any war, war itself is always a sinful tragedy.  As we gain close up views of the atrocities taking place in Ukraine, the horror of war is clearly in focus.  The fact that we live in a world where we must have a Memorial Day should trigger deep lament and sadness.  The honor with which we hold fallen soldiers should be surpassed by our disdain for the brokenness that causes us to send them into battle in the first place.

If you go to Washington DC and view the various war memorials you will see the cost of freedom - thousands of names etched in marble and granite.  It is also the cost of disobedience.  It is the price tag of rebelling against God and breaking a creation founded in peace.  Sin entered the world.  And now image bearers of God kill each other in the name of country, principle, or self-interest.  On this side of the new creation war may be unavoidable.  But let us never make our peace with it.