Monday, May 27, 2013

Memorial Day for our Armed Forces

This is a bittersweet day for many folks. Some have returned from wars to ponder their fallen friends. Some have spouses who served and died. Some have sons, daughters, or cousins who never returned alive. It is a day of contemplation and humble remembrance for the warriors of our country who put themselves in harm's way to fight the good fight.

They gave everything they could so we could be free in this country. I appreciate their sacrifices so very much having lived in a middle east nation for a year. I saw what it was like for people who did not have freedom and never tasted democracy and a republic nation.

Freedom comes in many forms. Even enslaved Americans from centuries past knew true freedom comes from an inward sense of worth given to each person by our God. Knowing Jesus, the Son of God, died to give us ultimate freedom to be his brother or sister for eternity can outweigh even the grimmest of our life's circumstances. The gospel songs of the South rooted in slavery speak to that level of freedom. "One glad morning when this life is o'er, I'll fly away..."


Today is a bittersweet day. For the ones who survived and who remained behind, let us remember those who did not. But more importantly, let us continue to fight the real enemy of Christ, the devil and all his deceptions and lies. Daily, let us put on the "full armor of God" and do what we can to protect ourselves as believers. To pray for one another and a hedge of protection from the attacks of the devil is our due diligence as we trod this sin-torn earth, awaiting the day we "fly away" home.

Blessings and Agape,

Dr. Linda B. Greer