Today is Memorial Day. It is a day where, as a country, we take time to consider and remember all of those who have died in service to our country. We remember the sacrifice that they made in order to give all of us our freedom. This noble sacrifice is good for us to keep in mind. They put themselves in our place in order for us to be protected from those that would forcibly harm us. Instead of us having to handle this threat ourselves, they put themselves in our place.

As noble as this sacrifice is, we have a greater sacrifice that it is important for us to constanly keep in mind. Jesus Christ did the same thing that those veterans did. Knowing who our enemy was, and how deadly that he can be, Jesus decided He would take our place. He gave His life so that we could find freedom. Not freedom from tyranny of political oppression, but freedom from the slavery of sin. We were captured and overcome by sin, and there was only one way for us to find freedom: Jesus had to sacrifice Himself.

Just as it is good for us to remember the sacrifice made by wartime heroes, we need to remember the sacrifice given by Jesus. We need to make sure that we do not take advantage of it or disregard the implications of His sacrifice. We need to respect the freedom we have recieved and seize it. To do that, we mut not return to the tyranny of sin, but refuse it at every turn. After seeing all that Jesus has done for us, that is how we can best honor the sacrifice he made for us.