I reached for a book on a shelf in the office a few days ago. It is a favorite that I like to read, and I have been blessed many times over with it. Debbie and I have given it to many young couples with small children. It isn’t a book on theology or Bible doctrine. It is a book of stories, poems, and all sorts of things we should know about love, faith, courage, loyalty, and patriotism. The book is the “Book of Virtues” by William J. Bennett. Every young family ought to have this book to read to their children. Reaching for the book once again, I began thumbing through the pages and came across a poem written over 100 years ago. I’ve read this poem many times over, but it did my heart good to read it once again. “In Flanders Fields” by John McCrae. He was Canadian, a doctor, a teacher, and a Lieutenant Colonel in WWI. He wrote this poem in 1915.
“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.”
Why did it bless me on that Sunday afternoon? Because I began to think about the sacrifice that was made for me and my fellow Americans by courageous men and women who were willing and did give their lives in service to protect the values of America and our way of life. They gave the ultimate sacrifice to fight against evil and preserve our freedoms. I have written before that we should celebrate “Memorial Day.” I have changed my thinking about this. Perhaps it would be better to reflect and have a heart full of gratitude than to celebrate. We can have our celebrations on other holidays, but for the one happening this Monday, Memorial Day, let’s just be grateful. Were these dead not willing to fight and die, we would all be speaking German.
I can’t close this blog without mentioning the greatest sacrifice that has ever taken place. It didn’t happen in the poppy fields of Belgium and France; it happened outside the walls of old Jerusalem in A.D. 33. The sinless Son of God, the Lord Jesus, was nailed to the old rugged cross. His willingness to give up his life secured eternal life to all who would believe. As grateful as I am for the men and women who in service gave their lives, I am more grateful for what Jesus was willing to do for me and you. When the last great Old Testament prophet John the Baptist declared in John 1:29, “Behold the lamb of God that takes away the sin of the world,” that picture wasn’t of a cute little wooly lamb bouncing around as a family pet. It was a picture of a lamb to be slain, sacrificed for the sins of the world. Jesus took our sin debt, paid it all, and set us free, but he had to die to do it. Are you grateful? I pray you are full of gratitude for the sacrifice of others and the Lord Jesus. As the poppy fields bloom, may appreciation and thanks bloom in our hearts.