In the Book of John, Jesus commands us to: "Love each other as I have loved you" and then He says, "Greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends. John caught the meaning of the statement and repeated it in his First Epistle: "This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down his life for us. And we ought to lay down or lives for our brothers." (1 John 3:16)
These words were spoken to us to encourage us to build good strong relationships with one another and to appreciate our friendships. Now imagine that a friend you have never met gave their life for you.
This weekend we will be honoring those who have given their lives so we can live out the ideals of freedom and the pursuit of happiness. Their love for us goes beyond measure and it is only fitting that we remember the sacrifice they made for their friends. This is one of those debts we can never repay, but we can honor them by saying, "thank you, friend."
One of the ways we honor and thank the men and women who have died in military service to their country is by observing Memorial Day on the last Monday of May.
• Dave Goodale is associate pastor of Capital Christian Center and president of the Carson City Christian Ministerial Fellowship.