Each year Americans remember the many who gave their lives for our country. This year, much like those before, we know several that road motor cycles to Washington "Rolling Thunder - Run to the Wall."But whether you remember our fallen on a motor cycle or that time to pray for those lost and those still serving our country today, I would like to consider the concept of a "Memorial."
Throughout Scripture, God speaks volumes about remembering, thus placing a memorial for future generations. Different, but the same, the memorial concept is a remembrance of the past to help all of us make decisions in the future.
A spiritual memorial is simply any object, picture, or memory that can direct one's spirit towards the realization that God is good and faithful... When the Israelites crossed the Jordan River to enter the Promised Land in Joshua 4, Joshua called each of the tribes to gather a stone from the river and, using these 12 stones, they built a memorial to the faithfulness of God. Joshua declared, "…When your children ask in time to come, 'What do these stones mean to you?' then you shall tell them that the waters of the Jordan were cut off in front of the ark of the covenant of the Lord. When it crossed over the Jordan, the waters of the Jordan were cut off. So these stones shall be to the Israelites a memorial forever.'" (Joshua 4: 6-7) The first thing Joshua did when he entered the Promised Land was build a spiritual memorial to the faithfulness of God. He understood the transformative power of spiritual memorials. He understood that what some people might see as just a pile of rocks, others could be taught to see as a powerful testimony to God.
Another example of the transformative power of spiritual memorials comes out of the life of David in 1 Samuel 17. The young shepherd boy is thrust into a battle against a tremendous obstacle, the giant Goliath. As David considered the possibility of facing this giant in battle, he looked for hope in spiritual memorials of God's faithfulness to him in the past. When everyone around him, defeated and demoralized, trembled in fear of the giant, David chose to place his trust in God. David recalled occasions when God helped him defeat a lion and a bear while guarding his father's sheep.
These memories of God's faithfulness in the past provided David with the hope that God would be faithful in delivering him from the giant that he faced in this situation. So, armed with these spiritual memorials and a simple sling, David stepped into the valley and defeated the giant. David's act of faith infused hope and courage into the army of Israel. Suddenly, these men who'd been cowering in fear charged bravely across the battlefield to conquer the Philistines. Spiritual memorials not only serve as personal reminders to God's faithfulness, but at times they even bolster or ignite the faith of entire communities.
Spiritual memorials are all around us, but sometimes we just need to get people to see them with new eyes—to have a new experience with them.
