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Several years ago, Memorial Day found me at the Pearl Harbor memorial, a humbling reminder of the incredible price of our liberty. This holiday was instituted to remind Americans that our freedoms and our way of life have been purchased at a tremendous cost. We are “expensive people.”

As time has passed, Memorial Day has become less a day of remembrance and more a signal — a signal that school is out, pools are open, it’s time to fire up the grill and go to the lake. None of those things is bad. In fact, those who purchased our freedoms died so that we could do those things. But to forget those who paid the price for our freedoms is not only unfortunate and ungrateful, it’s dangerous. While we may constitutionally declare that each person has the right to “life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness,” we must understand it took great sacrifice to win us these rights!

We are “expensive people.”

As Christians, we have Memorial Day each week as we remember Jesus' death and resurrection until he comes. It is a weekly reminder that we are expensive people — people bought at a great price.

But our memorial day is not just a time to look back and reflect on the cost to the one who redeemed us, but is also a time to look at what we are doing with our lives to honor him, and a time to anticipate what Jesus will do for us in the future.

We are “expensive people.”

We have been loved sacrificially by the Creator of the universe. We are precious to him. But let’s do more than cost a lot. Let’s be valuable people—not just precious to him, but valuable to him. Let’s be people who know they are precious to God and live with passionate commitment for his purposes. People who look forward to their ultimate victory while they live sacrificially in the present to God’s glory.

We are precious to him.

Acts 20:7 UP

Look Great, Feel Great: 12 Keys to Enjoying a Healthy Life Now by Joyce Meyer Joyce guides us to a healthier way of living, reminding us that turning every issue over to God gives us the strength to make lasting changes.

Phil Ware is minister of the Word at Southern Hills Church of Christ in Abilene, Texas. For the past 10+ years, he has also been co-editor of HEARTLIGHT Magazine. For more details, click here.

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