The Soldier I Honor Most on Memorial Day

"This is my body broken for you.  Do this in remembrance of me."  Jesus

In memorial of my uncle, Haze Howard the 3^rd.

I never knew him, but I wish that I had.  I am told he was a war hero, and I wonder what my life would have been if I had known him.   How would Haze affect my father and brothers?  What would he say to my sons and daughters?

But there is a soldier I do know and admire even more than Haze the 3^rd.  More of a soldier.  More of a warrior.  Because soldiers are saviors, and Jesus is The Savior.  He laid down his life for me and everybody.  We do think of this-- occasionally. 

But not without distraction. 

We think of The One born to die, but we also think of a man flying around giving gifts to little children.  We think of the Lord’s death and resurrection, but we also think of a bunny and hidden eggs holding candy and other goodies. 

I find no real distractions when we think of our soldiers.

And notice the reverence with which we hold our soldiers.  Notice our patriotism, in which we rightly should be reverent.  We should honor this country’s father and mother warriors, and noble causes for which they died.  We in the church especially should honor their loyalty and bravery.

I pass a church every morning with catchy cliché churchy sayings.  But on today, Memorial Day, the saying was serious and to the point. 

“They laid down their lives for their country.  Honor them.”

And we do, when we hail the red, white, and blue.  When The Star Spangled Banner plays, men, women, and children cover their hearts and sing with conviction.  Playing and joking are forbidden.  And this is good.

But it would be better to give supreme focus and undistracted honor to Jesus, The Ultimate Warrior, The Supreme Ultimate Savior—because soldiers are saviors.  By honoring Jesus, we honor all soldiers, because the ultimate soldiers die to honor their Creator.