Blessed Memories

READ: DEUTERONOMY 4:9; PSALM 78:1-16

I was in middle school when I first took an interest in the Civil War, particularly the role that my third great grandfather, Michael Sallander, played in it. He was only a teen and a recent immigrant when war broke out, yet he still enlisted in his home state of Wisconsin, lying about his age to do so. All four of his brothers enlisted as well. One died—the younger brother who enlisted with him and fought beside him. Two or three of the Sallander brothers were prisoners of war, including my grandfather, and another one was so debilitated by disease that he never returned to the farm.

Despite the horrors of war and its long-lasting impact on his family, Michael served alongside a number of Methodist ministers who profoundly impacted his life—to such an extent that he was ever after described as a happy man of faith in my great-grandmother’s stories.

Every Memorial Day, a holiday initially created to remember Civil War veterans, I think of Michael and thank God for his life, his faith, and his sacrifice. There is a blessing in remembering the faithful who have gone before us, and I believe we have a responsibility to remember the ways our ancestors and spiritual role models lived and died in faith. After all, God can use their examples to inspire us and the generations after us—to reassure us of prayers that did not die with the faithful, but continue to surround us now (Hebrews 11:13-16; 11:39–12:3; Revelation 5:8).

This Memorial Day, consider taking a moment to remember the people strong in the faith who came before you. You might ask Christian family members or church members in your life for stories about their faith, about the ways they have seen God move in their lives, and about the people who inspired them to know God better. Perhaps Memorial Day can become a holiday of grateful remembrance for us all. • Abigail Aswegen

• Jesus loves us, and His death and resurrection made the way for us to be united with Him and other believers through the Holy Spirit (1 Corinthians 12:13). If we’ve put our trust in Jesus, we have become part of His family, the church—which includes all believers around the world and throughout history. Our faith has been passed down from generation to generation for thousands of years. How can it be helpful to hear the stories of those who walked with Jesus before us? What stories of His faithfulness in your life do you want to pass on to the next generation?

“Remember the former things, those of long ago; I am God, and there is no other; I am God, and there is none like me.” Isaiah 46:9 (NIV)