Today is the day I am reminded that freedom is never free. That freedom that I take for granted was bought and paid for with blood. While I go to cookouts and eat too much and watch movies, American soldiers are paying the ultimate sacrifice for me.

The best I can do in return to honor these men and women is to cherish my freedom and to use it not for selfish pursuits, but to one day leave my world a little better when I leave it than when I found it. So, thank you to all those who serve in the Armed Forces in any capacity. Though my thanks fall far short of what you deserve, they are all I have to give.

At the risk of pulling a Jesus juke on you and going all spiritual on you out of nowhere, I do think that today is a day to remember the highest sacrifice made for my freedom. Long before my time, long before there was even an America, a man made the ultimate sacrifice for me and you. A man who happened to be God in human form.

Jesus willingly laid down His life for mine, even though I was an enemy of God, deserving nothing less than God’s full wrath. He paid with His precious blood, all of it, to buy me for God. Not just me. You too. We all have hope and joy and freedom because of Jesus.

Again, the best I can do is live my life as a thank you back to God. All I can do is live in the freedom Jesus won for me and not use it for my own aims and goals, but instead devote my life to making His name and His glory look great.

So, at the end of another Memorial Day, don’t forget to pray for those soldiers defending your freedom. Don’t forget to thank your God who did not think His Son too high a price to pay for you. And live every day as a hymn of thanksgiving back to Him. It may fall far short of what He deserves in return, but it’s all we can do.