Disciple Up #58
Making Spiritual Memorials
By Louie Marsh, 5-30-2018
Memorial:
1 : serving to preserve remembrance : commemorative. 2 : of or relating to memory.
Memorial Day:
Memorial Day is an American holiday, observed on the last Monday of May, honoring the men and women who died while serving in the U.S. military. Memorial Day 2018 occurs on Monday, May 28. Originally known as Decoration Day, it originated in the years following the Civil War and became an official federal holiday in 1971. Many Americans observe Memorial Day by visiting cemeteries or memorials, holding family gatherings and participating in parades. Unofficially, it marks the beginning of the summer season.
People have always done this – look at all the monuments in history. See how they often end up commemorating something different than the designers wanted them too – ie. The pyramids.
We all need memorials and days in our lives to reflect upon, learn from and preserve our own spiritual growth.
This was done a lot in the Bible:
14 “This day shall be for you a memorial day, and you shall keep it as a feast to the LORD; throughout your generations, as a statute forever, you shall keep it as a feast. Exodus 12:14 (ESV)
6 that this may be a sign among you. When your children ask in time to come, ‘What do those stones mean to you?’ 7 then you shall tell them that the waters of the Jordan were cut off before the ark of the covenant of the LORD. When it passed over the Jordan, the waters of the Jordan were cut off. So these stones shall be to the people of Israel a memorial forever.” Joshua 4:6-7 (ESV)
1 At Caesarea there was a man named Cornelius, a centurion of what was known as the Italian Cohort, 2 a devout man who feared God with all his household, gave alms generously to the people, and prayed continually to God. 3 About the ninth hour of the day he saw clearly in a vision an angel of God come in and say to him, “Cornelius.” 4 And he stared at him in terror and said, “What is it, Lord?” And he said to him, “Your prayers and your alms have ascended as a memorial before God. 5 And now send men to Joppa and bring one Simon who is called Peter. 6 He is lodging with one Simon, a tanner, whose house is by the sea.” 7 When the angel who spoke to him had departed, he called two of his servants and a devout soldier from among those who attended him, Acts 10:1-7 (ESV)
19 And he took bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it and gave it to them, saying, “This is my body, which is given for you. Do this in remembrance of me.” Luke 22:19 (ESV)
Memorial Quotes: Read more at: https://www.brainyquote.com/topics/memorial
Here is also to be noted, that the cause of the institution was to be a memorial, to testify that Christ’s body was given, and his blood shed for us. – William Tyndale
For famous men have the whole earth as their memorial. – Pericles
Since it is not granted to us to live long, let us transmit to posterity some memorial that we have at least lived. E. Joseph Cossman
Letters are among the most significant memorial a person can leave behind them. Johann Wolfgang von Goethe
The Disciple Up Low Down On Making Memorials
This is the Disciple Up Low Down on the Making of Memorials.
If you’ve ever been to Washington DC then you’ve probably seen at least some of the memorials there. I’ve been blessed enough to have gone several times and have seen most of them. The two that struck me most forcefully were the Lincoln Memorial and the World War Two Memorial. Of course having the pleasure to visit the World War Two Memorial with my father who was a veteran of that war made that first occasion special indeed.
That town is full of memorials as are many cities and towns across the world. I’ve seen memorials in the islands of the Pacific (indeed I had the privilege of helping to dedicate one to the members of the 2nd Raiders who were beheaded on Kwajalein years ago) in South East Asia, Spain and across the United States. I know there are thousands of others as well.
Mankind has a drive to create these things because we don’t want what we have done, or what our loved ones have done, to be forgotten. We hate the idea of that sacrifice and service passing unknown into history even as we know that the vast majority of all such service and sacrifice will be forgotten in a mere generation or two.
This offends both our pride and our love so we build and teach and write books and make movies all designed to make memories. But in the end we know that most, if not all, of what we memorialize will be forgotten in the mists of time.
But such is the human spirit that despite knowing this we still strive. There is good and bad in this of course.
The good is that we don’t give up and that we do seek to remember honorable service. This is as it should be. The Bible reminds us to honor those who serve. Listen to how Paul the Apostle speaks of two men who are all but forgotten: 17 I rejoice at the coming of Stephanas and Fortunatus and Achaicus, because they have made up for your absence, 18 for they refreshed my spirit as well as yours. Give recognition to such people. 1 Corinthians 16:17-18 (ESV)
The downside to all this is our egos naturally. Look at the massive pyramids which are nothing but monuments to a Pharaoh’s massive ego. Many of them still stand today, but who can name the Pharaoh’s who so proudly built them? Not many.
Yes, glory is fleeting and our lives are like the flowers, here today and gone tomorrow. But while we live it is good to remember and honor those who serve or have served. It is even better to honor those who serve or have served the Kingdom of God. And it is best to remember, honor and serve the King of Kings and the Lord of Lords, our Savior Jesus, who alone is worthy of all honor and praise.
And that’s the Disciple Up Low Down on the Making of Memorials.
How To Make A Spiritual Memorial
• Do it Deliberately
• Do it Thoughtfully
• Do it Memorably
• Do it Publicly (accountable)
Please Get In Touch!Email – louie@discipleup.org
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