In downtown Indianapolis, there is a structure that was built in 1922 as a memorial to the sacrifice of the brave men that fought for this nation during World War I. The people of Indiana, the newly formed American Legion, and the state’s government all felt the need to build the great building as a tribute to their sacrifice and as a reminder to future generations of what had happened. Indianapolis is not alone; there are many towns across the United States that have memorials that stretch from the current wars in Iraq and Afghanistan to the Indian Wars before the American Revolution. We, as our forefathers, believe that the sacrifice and heroism of those men should be remembered by future generations.
Within the Bible, there were several memorials that the Children of Israel were supposed to use to teach the younger generations about the things that God had done. The first memorial mentioned in the Bible is found in Exodus: And God said unto Moses, I AM THAT I AM: and he said, Thus shalt thou say unto the children of Israel, I AM hath sent me unto you. And God said moreover unto Moses, Thus shalt thou say unto the children of Israel, The LORD God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, hath sent me unto you: this is my name for ever, and this is my memorial unto all generations (Exodus 3:14-15). What God was telling Moses is that the very name of God, I AM THAT I AM, was to be a memorial within itself for all those who would follow Moses out of Egypt.
As God prepared the last of the great plagues, He instructed Moses and the Hebrew waiting to leave Egypt to prepare for His judgment against Pharaoh; the death angel was going to descend into Egypt and slay the firstborn. As God laid out how the Hebrews were to mark that night, He told Moses, And this day shall be unto you for a memorial; and ye shall keep it a feast to the LORD throughout your generations; ye shall keep it a feast by an ordinance for ever (Exodus 12:14). God had instituted what would become the Passover celebration as a memorial of His deliverance of the children of Israel out of Egypt. This memorial was to be something taught, passed down from generation to generation so that the descendents of those who left Egypt would remember the power, the judgment, and the provision of God.
While serving as an interim pastor of a small country church in rural western Kentucky, I was teaching a Wednesday night Bible study class on Passover and its symbolic representations of the Lord Jesus Christ when I was asked why Jesus didn’t leave us any great feasts or memorials as he did with the Jewish people. Baptism and the Lord’s Supper are both memorials and public proclamations about the greatness of God’s provision for those that follow after Him. While Christianity does not have the number of memorials and feasts as does its parent, the Jewish faith, it does have very significant memorials. Again, looking at the Lord’s Supper, the apostle Paul wrote of its significance to the believer, After the same manner also he took the cup, when he had supped, saying, This cup is the new testament in my blood: this do ye, as oft as ye drink it, in remembrance of me (I Corinthians 11:25). Every time we take part in the Lord’s supper, we are to remember the high cost of our salvation and the death of Jesus on the cross.
Using the Old Testament model, even the very name of Jesus is to be a memorial for the believer. As we tell others about the love of the Lord Jesus Christ, we are commemorating His life, death, burial, and resurrection. We are proclaiming His majesty and his ability to redeem fallen man. For far too long, Christians have stood idly by, out of fear of being labeled as a Bible thumper or being judgmental, as the world (and some Christians) have taken the name of our Lord and Savior and turned it into an expletive. We don’t hear people saying, “Oh, Margaret Sanger,” or “Oh, Muhammad” when something happens that they did not expect. We don’t hear characters in movies or television shows yell out those names as expletives, but yet they seemingly have no problems blaspheming the name of Jesus. The name of our Lord and Savior is a sacred, a Holy name that deserves our respect; as a Christian, we should not be hesitant in our requests to ask them not to use Christ’s name with such disrespect in our presence.
When I was attending Lone Oak Baptist Church in Illinois, one of the older ladies of the congregation shared with me something I thought was very unique and special. Within the cover of her Bible, she had kept a list of dates and descriptions of prayers she had seen answered by God. She told me that her greatest hope was that when she passed on, her grandchildren would be able to look back at her Bible and see how the Lord had rewarded her faith in Him throughout her life. What she had done was to create a memorial of God’s grace and goodness to be passed down to the next generation!
In itself, the Bible is a memorial of the goodness and righteousness of God. Within its pages are the writings of men, led by the Holy Spirit, stretching back thousands of years, contains stories of God’s mercy and grace. It has the ability to give hope and comfort for the hurting, joy and peace for those who are hurting, and reassurance and strength for the weak. Most importantly, it has the only plan of salvation for humanity.
