Remembering the Fallen and Risen

At the Anzac Day dawn service this morning in Riverstone, thousands gathered to remember those who answered the call to go to war, knowing well it could cost them their lives.  Today marks the 109th year since thousands of Australian and New Zealand soldiers landed on Gallipoli during World War 1, and we gathered to commemorate those who have served or are currently serving as members of our defence force.  We remember, lest we forget.  The sound of bagpipes, drums and bugle, the laying of wreaths, singing of hymns and anthems, the murmur of uttering prayers, the recitation of the Ode, and a military flyover made up a solemn service to honour the living as well as the dead.

At a Anzac Day dawn service it is customary to see people dressed casually like they just climbed out of bed (which very well may be true), wearing suits or donning their military uniform.  It is not uncommon to see some wearing a sprig of rosemary, a traditional sign of remembrance in Australia.  There are also people who attend the service in plain clothes who wearing medals they or family members before them earned during military service.  I recently read the medals earned yourself are to be worn on the left side of the chest, and if the medals are being worn to honour an ancestor they must be worn on the right side.  It is against the law to wear a medal you have not earned as if it is your own.

Those who serve and have made great sacrifices for others are an inspiration to all, and as we prayed to God in heaven I remembered how Jesus Christ willingly gave His life for lost sinners like me.  Both of my grandfathers served in the U.S. Navy, but it was by observing them in action at home I found their no-nonsense, embrace of hard work inspirational.  This is true about Jesus Christ as well, for He rose long before dawn in prayer and ministered to all who came to Him day by day.  While it is fitting we observe Anzac Day in Australia and New Zealand on an annual basis, it is right to remember Jesus Christ with gratitude every day because we Christians live through Him.  Jesus answered the call to go to the cross, to offer His life daily with love, to die and rise again, to become sin for us Who knew no sin, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him (2 Cor. 5:21).

As the wreaths were placed I recognised the tune of Amazing Grace on bagpipes looped again and again:  "Amazing grace! How sweet the sound that saved a wretch like me!  I once was lost but now am found; was blind but now I see."  As a citizen of Australia I rejoice in God who has granted our fair nation favour, and I join with our Kiwi friends with an amen to their anthem that honours God:  "Let our love for Thee increase, may Thy blessings never cease, give us plenty, give us peace, God defend our free land."  The God who saves us is the risen God who defends us, and may our love for Him who is blessed increase.