Who would remember us? – a Remembrance Day reflection

Can a mother forget the baby at her breast and have no compassion on the child she has borne? Though she may forget, I will not forget you! See I have engraved you on the palms of my hands; your walls are ever before me.
Isaiah 49:15-18

On Remembrance Day we remember those who have laid down their lives in the service of our country. It is a time of very mixed emotions – pride in friends and family who have selflessly served us, sadness and grief at the loss of dearly loved ones, gratitude for those who continue to risk everything.

The analogies with Jesus’ life are immediate and striking. Our God emptied himself and became human, took the risk of child-birth and of being raised in a first-century family, and went to a brutal death so that we might live free lives. In a similar way those who have died in the service of our country have laid down their lives so that we might be free in this country. Of course there are differences – our service personnel’s sacrifice buys us freedom this side of the grave whilst Jesus’ sacrifice opens up the possibility of eternal life to us.

Another difference is that we all remember the name of Jesus, whilst the names of the war dead are sometimes forgotten. To preserve their memories war memorials are set up around the country, and some churches read out the names of their war dead each Remembrance Sunday. In this way we remind ourselves of the horror of conflict, and we remember those who have paid the ultimate price.

For the rest of us though our names are unlikely to feature on war memorials, nor are they likely to be read out in Remembrance services. We go about our lives and we can sometimes feel quite insignificant – who would remember us? Yet our lives are significant, we carry the kingdom of God with us wherever we go. We minister the full power and authority of Jesus into the lives of those we meet. Jesus called us the light of the world (Matthew 5:14) to describe the impact that our lives have on those around us – we bring the light of God into a dark and fallen world.

And as Isaiah wrote all those years ago, we are not forgotten about by God. Our names are engraved on the palms of his hands. He knows us each by name, even the hairs on our heads are numbered (Luke 12:7). Sometimes we can feel like we are forgotten and insignificant but in those times we need to remember the startling truth that the God who created the universe, who flung stars into space, who gives breath to every living creature in each moment of each day – he knows each of us by name and he will never forget us.