Living memorials.

In the main square of the town where I grew up there is a memorial. It is a large stone, smoothly finished and etched with the names of all the young men who died defending their country during the two World Wars. Growing up in the town so many of the surnames mentioned were familiar, they could have been grand parents or great grand parents of people I went to school with.

The men listed on this memorial were no different from you or I, they could have been us, and seeing their names reminds us of the value of our home towns or cities. It also reminds us of how much it can cost to love a community, a town, a city or a nation. Defending it from enemy occupation.

This occurred to me as I read this passage from Psalm 92:12-15 (Amp) and the notion of us being ‘living memorials’ really hit home.

“The [uncompromisingly] righteous shall flourish like the palm tree [be long-lived, stately, upright, useful, and fruitful]; they shall grow like a cedar in Lebanon [majestic, stable, durable, and incorruptible].
Planted in the house of the Lord, they shall flourish in the courts of our God.
[Growing in grace] they shall still bring forth fruit in old age; they shall be full of sap [of spiritual vitality] and [rich in the] verdure [of trust, love, and contentment].
[They are living memorials] to show that the Lord is upright and faithful to His promises; He is my Rock, and there is no unrighteousness in Him.”

Fusion, our longing to live for God and to walk with Him, calls for us to lay down our lives daily in obedient service [worship]. We find our heart crying out to join with Paul in saying “for me, to live is Christ.”
We are called to be cross bearers, messengers of the Gospel in word and deed. Fusion does not entertain compromise. It hungers to be wholly Christ’s. We are called to live as ‘living memorials’ testifying to God’s greatness, His heroism in our rescue, and the permanent hope of salvation. To refuse the enemy victory in our lives, our family and all those whose paths cross ours.