And he took bread, gave thanks and broke it, and gave it to them, saying, “This is my body given for you; do this in remembrance of me.” Luke 22:19
Today is Memorial Day in America – a day when thoughts turn toward those who have given their lives for this country – the ultimate sacrifice. We are capable of observing such a day because we are still living. We are the ones who remember – who observe a special day – who place a cross on each grave and who create memorial statues and monuments so that future generations will not forget. The ones we remember may have, in their last moments, been aware of their sacrifice for loved ones or their lives may have been taken from them so quickly that there was no time for reflection. Either way, we honor them and realize that without them, life would be very, very different for us. It is for us they died.
Jesus, whose very purpose in coming as our Savior was to lose His life as a sacrifice for ours, pondered on this assignment throughout His entire life. He knew what was coming because He willingly chose to die in our stead. His life’s work was completed in His sacrificial death and His miraculous resurrection.
As we remember those whom He created who followed His example and died so that we could have a chance to live a full life here on earth, we must keep ever present in our hearts the truth that Jesus Christ chose to die so that we could live eternally.
We are the reason He died. We are capable of enjoying eternal life with Him because of His sacrificial love.
Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. The one who believes in me will live, even though they die; and whoever lives by believing in me will never die. Do you believe this?” (John 11:25-26)
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