Memorial Day is marked by remembrance of those fallen in service. In 2 Samuel 23, King David’s mighty men break through enemy lines to fetch water from the well of Bethlehem, his childhood home. They present David with the water, but he hesitates. He tells them the water has blood in it. Since it has come through the battlefield, this is both literally and spiritually true.
David pours the water out before the Lord, saying, “Far be it from me, Lord, to do this! Is it not the blood of men who went at the risk of their lives?” In the biblical context, this act is not wasteful but worshipful. It’s David acknowledging that the lives of his men are far more precious than his own desires. He will not consume what was bought at such a price.
That story reminds me of the Vietnam War Memorial, with its reflective granite walls. By design, to look into the polished granite reveals more than the names of the fallen. In the reflective surface, the face of every visitor is reflected back. It’s a mirror held up to every soul—a call to consider the legacy such sacrifices leave in those who follow.
Sacrifice is an inescapable part of our life as followers of Jesus. John writes in his first letter, “This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down his life for us. And we ought to lay down our lives for one another” (1 John 3:16).
When this is made real in our lives, we realize that this isn’t spiritual talk about laying down our lives in the abstract. Few of us will be called upon to give up our lives for someone else in a once-for-all gesture of heroic sacrifice. However, we will have countless opportunities to give our lives away, a little at a time. It’s a practice woven into the fabric of our daily life, in the selflessness of marriage, the nurturing of children, and the maintenance of friendships. Each act of sharing a piece of ourselves, though small, is a stitch in that fabric woven in love.
Grace and Peace,