“The righteous man perishes, and no man
takes it to heart; And devout men are taken away, while no one
understands. For the righteous man is taken away from evil, He enters
into peace; They rest in their beds, Each one who walked in his upright
way.” (Isaiah 57:1-2 NASB)
As the world pauses on the 11th hour, on the 11th day, of the 11th month
we are committing to do something we have done every year since 1919,
“We will remember them.” Remembrance Day is more than just a sober
reminder about the gravity of war. It is a momentary recollection of
what our service people have done and continue do to give us freedom
today. We stop, we pause, and we recollect the accounts of those brave
Soldiers, Sailors and Airmen/Women who went before us, who laid down
their lives as an act of sacrifice and hope for our nations. As fields
and forests were once blasted bare from ammunition, and trenches painted
crimson with the blood of Allies, these sacred places of war now sit
silent with nothing but the howling wind echoing the sound of battle
etched on each gravestone. Today we continue take that solemn oath of
silence and give honour where it is due, reflecting on the sacrifice by
these brave servicemen.
Quite a few years ago I had the privilege of going to Gallipoli
for the first time. One thing that humbled me was reading these men’s
gravestones. In 2014 I returned again on a study tour and saw the grave
of a 15 year old Australian Light horseman from the 9th Infantry. It read,
“He Died a Man & Closed His Life’s Brief Day Ere It Had Scarce Begun.” When
looking around at each grave this same story became all too apparent.
Before any of these young men had time to leave the nest of their
parent’s homes they were shedding blood for God King and Country on the
other side of the world. These men barely old enough to spill a bottle
of red wine answered the call and shed their own blood out of love,
duty, and respect for their fellow man.
In every respect, the very act of remembering and calling to mind the meaning of sacrifice is what each and every believer is called upon to carry out. Consistently it seems quite central to scripture, and people are called on to remember the works of God and that redemption came at a cost. Moses called on the children of Israel to remember where they had come from, and not forget the Lord who brought them out of slavery in Egypt (Exodus 6:12). The writer of Ecclesiastes encourages people to remember the Creator while they are young, because days are evil and nobody knows their length of days (Ecclesiastes 12:1). The Psalmist asks each generation to teach the following generations not to forget the works of God (Psalm 78:1-7). When the Lord instituted the breaking of bread in the upper room, He called on his disciples and everyone to partake and do this in remembrance of Him (Luke 22:19). The Apostle Paul encouraged the Corinthians to once again remember the ultimate sacrifice and work of redemption through this same supper (1 Corinthians 11:25). At each step of the way believers are encouraged to remember where they have come from, but more importantly, remember the one time sacrifice that was completed through Christ for freedom and liberty. In every respect, Remembrance Day is exactly what we are called to live every single day. Although we partake in a ceremonial day calling to memory the sacrifices made in war, the ultimate sacrifice has been made, and paid for through Christ.
The Apostle John writes Christ’s words from that night in the upper room before the war over sin was dealt with at the cross,
“This is My commandment, that you love one another, just as I have loved you. Greater love has no one than this, that one lay down his life for his friends. You are My friends if you do what I command you.” (John 15:13-15 NASB)
The reason we are so moved by this idea of sacrifice seems to be twofold. Firstly, and most importantly it involves a deep love for humanity. Secondly, it requires someone surrendering their freedom for an even greater cause. With the First and Second World Wars came casualties, young lives forfeited before their beginning, and millions of families ripped apart by grief, yet the concept of laying down one’s own life for their fellow human being displays a love beyond measure that we can all relate to.
“We know love by this, that He laid down His life for us; and we ought to lay down our lives for the brethren.” (1 John 3:16 NASB)
Nevertheless, today we still soberly remember the freedom we have through such courageous acts of service that these young men and women displayed. With the gift of hindsight we still may not understand the senselessness of war, or what sacrifice truly meant for them serving, but we can with solemn respect humbly repeat,
“They shall grow not old, as we that are left grow old:
Age shall not weary them, nor the years condemn
At the going down of the sun and in the morning
We will remember them…”
