Our country’s observance of a national Memorial Day began on May 30, 1868. It was then called Decoration Day and was commemorated at Arlington National Cemetery by volunteers decorating the graves of more than 20,000 Confederate and Union soldiers. The tradition of placing flags on the graves of soldiers continues to this day.
Decoration Day was renamed Memorial Day during WWII and proclaimed to be a day to honor all Americans who died in military service. In 1971, Memorial Day became a nation holiday by congressional order.
Is Memorial Day in the Bible?
The actual set-apart day that we observe is not there, but days of remembrance are ordained by God throughout Scripture. Beginning with the ordination of a day of rest (the Sabbath, Ex 20:8), including all the feast days (Leviticus), and a command to remember the Lord’s death, burial, and resurrection. Therefore, memorial days are certainly a biblical mandate. In addition, the Bible teaches that every day is meant to be a day of remembrance.
Remembering past events and places, those who have gone before us in the faith, and, most importantly, our God and His will and ways, is important to living our daily lives. On Memorial Day we remember those who have served our country, but we should also remember, and give thanks daily, to all who serve us personally. Christians are called to a lifestyle of giving and receiving, of serving and being served — and it starts with remembering what God has done for us. God sacrificially sent His Son to an undeserving world, to live and die for us, so we could be made worthy to receive His gift of eternal life.
Rightly Remember the Past to Direct the Future
It’s not just about remembering the past. It must be about rightly remembering the past. What does that mean? It means remembering with a mind renewed by God’s Word.
In 2012, I published a book about remembering, titled Why the Butterfly? A Book About Remembering. Why the butterfly? Because a butterfly is a symbol of regeneration from death to life, and of transformation from being earthbound to having “wings to fly” in newness of life. Why is the book about remembering? Because forgetting always precedes falling. Because rightly remembering influences our thoughts. And because our lives move in the direction of our most dominant thoughts. We all know people who remember that which they should forget and forget that which they should remember. Rightly remembering is taking captive past memories in a way that grow us and conform us to the image of Jesus.
The Bible Calls Us to Rightly Remember
Called to Remember Days
Exo 13:3 And Moses said unto the people, Remember this day, in which ye came out from Egypt…
Exo 20:8 Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy.
Est 9:28 ..these days should be remembered and kept throughout every generation…
Called to Remember Circumstances
Deu 7:18 …remember what the LORD thy God did unto Pharaoh, and unto all Egypt;
Deu 8:2 ..remember all the way which the LORD thy God led thee these forty years in the wilderness…
Deu 15:15 remember that thou wast a bondman in the land of Egypt, and the LORD thy God redeemed thee…
Deu 32:7 Remember the days of old, consider the years of many generations…
Most Importantly, Called to Remember God and His Words, His Will, and His Ways
Deu 8:18 …remember the LORD thy God…
Eccl 12:1 Remember now thy Creator in the days of thy youth…
Num 15:39 …remember all the commandments of the LORD, and do them…
John 15:20 Remember the word that I [Jesus] said unto you,
Jude 1:17 …remember ye the words which were spoken before of the apostles of our Lord Jesus Christ;
1 Th 1:2-3 We give thanks to God always for you all, making mention of you in our prayers; Remembering without ceasing your work of faith, and labour of love, and patience of hope in our Lord Jesus Christ, in the sight of God and our Father;
Honoring Those Who Served Our Country
- Watch as Former Presidents Pray and Proclaim Faith in God and His Word (video)
- Is Not Voting a Sin? How is Voting Like Praying?
- Measured By Our Words: The Wisdom of Calvin Coolidge
- Is America a Christian Nation?
- National Day of Prayer
- At the Gate of the Year: A Message to a Troubled Nation
- Two Minute Tribute to Those Who Gave Their All -- by Pres. Ronald Reagan (video)
- Memorial Day Bagpipes Tribute: Amazing Grace (video)
- Forget Not…Three Remembrances on Memorial Day
- The Land of the Free (video)
- Thank You, God, for Freedom (video)
- The White House: Shrouded in Color or Covered in God’s Word?
- Amazing Grace Bagpipes -video (A real tear-jerker)
- Their Legacy of Freedom Lives On - video
- No Greater Love: In Memory of Our Fallen Heroes -video
- A Prayer to Pray on Independence Day (video)
- "You Will Hear of Wars and Rumors of Wars"
- Grateful for Our Heroes - Memorial Day Tribute
- National Day of Prayer
- Which President Said, "We Will Never Abandon Our Belief in God"
- Do Presidents Pray?
- Why is Prayer Important?
- What Did President Reagan Say About Racism and Marxism?