We are in the early stages of another Presidential election. Campaign speeches are often interrupted by hecklers, but this is nothing new. I read about students at a university in Scotland who always heckled those who were given honorary degrees. Those students had just sat through four years of classes and they had no respect for people who were just “given” an honorary degree.
University officials were very worried about how the students might heckle one particular candidate for an honorary degree which was bestowed during the middle 1800’s. He was a Christian missionary and there was not much more respect for missionaries then than there is today on a college campus.
When David Livingstone stood before the student body, they observed his arm hanging limply from this shoulder. They knew it had been mangled by a lion on his African mission field. They also knew that he had buried his wife on that mission field. One by one, those young students began to stand to their feet; silently, reverently, and admiringly. They were looking at a living memorial to the service of God and country. Doctor Livingston also recorded his travels in Africa to help provide his home country with an accurate map.
Memorials are not all made of stone. It is certainly fitting to build them in honor of those who have given their lives for our freedom. We should thank God for them and pray for their loved ones. However, you may know some living memorials who have given years of their lives and perhaps their health; yet they still live around you. A simple “thank you” is always a good place to start.
You will enjoy Memorial Day weekend more if you will make it about more than the beginning of summer. Say “thanks” to God for those you cannot thank in person, but also look for an opportunity to say it to at least one person now serving.
Bro. Dennis