The 10th November 2013 was Remembrance Sunday. It was the
time set aside to remember those who have given their lives in various
conflicts across the globe – British soldiers who have fought and died to
preserve the freedom that we take for granted. It was on a visit to Crich and
the memorial there that I began to appreciate the significance. There was the
record of 11000 men killed in the First World War and over 2000 killed in the Second
World War. This is a just a snapshot of how many were killed across the many
regiments of soldiers in the country. We think of those that died in vast
numbers. We think of the families affected. It is right and fitting that those
who have benefitted should show their respect for the dead.
I wonder. How many people give any thought to One who gave His life
some 2000 years ago? It was outside the city of Jerusalem that He was crucified
by the Romans. Rejected by His own people, despised by the leaders of the
nation, He was taken by the Roman soldiers, brutally treated and crucified by nails
driven through His hands and feet. He too was a victim of conflict – the conflict
between good and evil. Peter described the events when he said to the Jews, ‘ye
have taken and by wicked hands have crucified and slain’. The crucifixion was
an expression of human self-will, sin, a testimony to man’s wickedness. Does
that mean that evil triumphed? No!
Those that we remember each year on the second Sunday in November gave
their life to maintain many of the freedoms we take for granted. Jesus Christ
laid down His life to give us a freedom far greater. Jesus died to free us from
sin – its penalty, its power, and, one day, its presence. When He died, He died
as a sacrifice for sin. He died to pay the penalty of our sin and guilt and to
restore us to fellowship with God.
We observe a few minutes silence once a year by way of remembrance of
the dead of numerous conflicts. It’s not much in minutes when compared with the
minutes that make up a year. Just two minutes! To think that the Son of God
loved me and gave His life to ransom mine, what time do I spend in remembrance
of Him? Have you given any thought to the death of Jesus Christ? Have you ever
considered why? Have you ever considered that your sin and mine cost God His
own Son to provide us with the possibility of salvation from sin – freedom?
