After officiating the funeral of friend and fellow soldier, Lt. Alexis Helmer, Lt. Col. John McCrae wrote “In Flanders Fields.” This past week, this poem was read at memorial services across the country, as folks paused from the hustle and bustle of life to remember those who have given their lives in battle. We should not take for granted freedoms we enjoy, nor forget those who made such a huge sacrifice, even their own lives to preserve such freedoms.
A lot of attention is given to fallen heroes on November 11, Remembrance Day. But should we not be mindful of those who served our nation throughout the year? The benefits we have from their sacrifice are not exclusive to November 11. We’re a free nation – a freedom that cost some their lives.
It is a sad fact that many are prone to forgetfulness. As Moses gave the law of God to the generation that would take possession of the promised land, he was concerned they’d forget all that God did for them. he warned them:
In Flanders fields the poppies blow
Between the crosses, row on row,
That mark our place; and in the sky
The larks, still bravely singing, fly
Scarce heard amid the guns below.
We are the Dead. Short days ago
We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow,
Loved and were loved, and now we lie,
In Flanders fields.
Take up our quarrel with the foe:
To you from failing hands we throw
The torch; be yours to hold it high.
If ye break faith with us who die
We shall not sleep, though poppies grow
In Flanders fields.
…diligently keep yourself, lest you forget the things your eyes have seen… (Deuteronomy 4:9)
And again:
Take heed to yourselves, lest you forget the covenant of the LORD your God… (Deuteronomy 4:23)
And again:
…beware, lest you forget the LORD who brought you out of the land of Egypt… (Deuteronomy 6:12)
The admonitions to keep in memory God’s goodness and His will continue. At times in the negative, ‘Do not forget,’ other times in the positive, ‘remember.’
…you shall remember the LORD your God… (Deuteronomy 8:18)
Again:
Remember what the LORD your God did… (Deuteronomy 24:9)
Commands to remember the LORD are scattered throughout the Law and the prophets. In fact, the mission of the prophets was to bring back to faithfulness a people who had forgotten the Lord. It happened just as the Lord said it would:
Beware that you do not forget the LORD your God by not keeping His commandments, His judgments, and His statutes … lest when you have eaten and are full, and have built beautiful houses and dwell in them; and when your herds and your flocks multiply, and your silver and your gold are multiplied, and all that you have is multiplied; when your heart is lifted up, and you forget the LORD your God who brought you out of the land of Egypt, from the house of bondage (Deuteronomy 8:11-14)
It is easy to get comfortable with the good things around us, and to forget those who have provided them. Israel was taken from slavery in Egypt to a land flowing with milk and honey, the land God had promised to them through Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. In this free and abundant land, they forgot the trials of their past, and also the God who freed them.
As great as the freedom we experience as Canadians is; as great as it was for Israel to receive the land of promise – these are temporal. Living in a good land is wonderful, but the fact is we will all die. What then? It won’t matter in eternity if we lived in Canada or Sudan, if we were free in Canaan or a slave in Egypt. I am not minimizing God’s gift to Israel, or the sacrifice of our forefathers.
But, in the eternal picture, these are but incidentals. What land we live in, the job we work at, whether we’re rich or poor, slave or free, whether we’re in the computer age or the stone age – none of these truly matter. They’re just the packaging around the true meaning of life.
It was good news when the Israelites defeated the city of Jericho by faith in God’s promise. They went on to conquer the entire land. It was good news when the report came that Germany had surrendered. The war was over. Liberty was upheld; our soldiers could come home. Everyone likes good news. Hear the good news reported by the apostle Paul:
…I declare to you, brothers, the good news … that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures. (1 Corinthians 15:1-4, WEB)
No news is as good as the news of Jesus Christ dying for you and I, and every soul that has walked upon the earth. By His spotless life and selfless death, He offered a kind of liberty and peace which could never be achieved by any man or army of men. He waged a battle with the devil, and rose victorious. And in Him, we may take part in the victory. Jesus lived a perfect life in the flesh, so that in His death
…He might destroy him who had the power of death, that is, the devil, and release those who through fear of death were all their lifetime subject to bondage. (Hebrews 2:14-15)
Don’t let Jesus’ service on our behalf go to waste in your life. He died for you! He died, not so you could have good food, a beautiful house, or build wealth in this life, but to give you an eternal home when the here and now is done. He promised,
In My Father’s house are many mansions; if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to Myself; that where I am, there you may be also.(John 14:2-3)
Be thankful for those who gave their lives for this land we live in. But, don’t forget the One who gave His life for your soul! Be added to the Lord (Romans 6:3-5; Galatians 3:26-27), and be faithful to Him – He gives life, abundant and eternal life (John 10:10).
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