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.

Acts 20:7 UP

1 Corinthians 11:23-26 UP

1 Corinthians 11:24-25: "in remembrance of me" UP

1 Corinthians 11:27-32: "a man ought to examine himself" UP

1 Corinthians 11:26: "until he comes" UP

2 Timothy 2:20-21: In a large house there are articles not only of gold and silver, but also of wood and clay; some are for noble purposes and some for ignoble. If a man cleanses himself from the latter, he will be an instrument for noble purposes, made holy and useful to the Master and prepared to do any good work.UP