At the end of the month of May, we have a national holiday here in the United States to honor the military personnel who gave their lives in the service of our great country. Memorial Day is a time of solemn reflection when we remember and are thankful for the soldiers who sacrificed to preserve our freedom.

There are many ways that nations, states, communities, churches, families, and individuals commemorate people or events that have significantly impacted them, and history has proven that there is great value in doing so. Let’s consider four aspects of memorials: examples of physical memorials, spiritual memorials, why we need such memorials, and how we can set them in place in our own lives.

Physical memorials

Many monuments in this nation’s capital, Washington DC, memorialize events or people who made a mark on this country. For example, at a ceremony on February 21, 1885, President Chester A. Arthur dedicated the newly completed Washington Monument to the memory of George Washington, the first president of the United States. The Washington Monument remains one of the most distinctive features of the city’s skyline to this day.

Some memorials in this country are reminders of significant events, such as the Pearl Harbor National Memorial, which commemorates the attack that brought the United States into World War II. Other memorials symbolize foundational ideals, such as the Statue of Liberty. Still others commemorate achievements; for example, the Wright Brothers National Memorial celebrates man’s first powered flight. Such memorials help preserve historical narratives and ensure that lessons from the past are learned and remembered from one generation to the next. 

In many locations, there are street names, airports, libraries, and parks that are named in honor of historic figures. Religious institutions around the world are also named for individuals. One in Ogun State, Nigeria, called Crawford University, was named after Florence Crawford, the founder of the Apostolic Faith Church. Some parents have named their children Florence, Raymond, Loyce, or Josiah, memorializing church leaders who were shining examples of stability, holiness, purity, and godliness. In giving children these names, the parents are indicating a hope that their children will grow up in the same manner and with the same passion that those people had for the Gospel. So, memorials, whether national, church, or personal, are all around us.

A memorial for Israel

In Joshua chapter 4, we read of a time when God instituted a spiritual memorial for the Children of Israel. He told their leader, Joshua, to have twelve men—one from each tribe—take a stone from the Jordan River. The stones were to be carried to the other side of the river and set up as a memorial (verse 8). At God’s direction, the stones that were taken from the Jordan became memorial stones. They marked the miraculous event that had just occurred: the Children of Israel had crossed the Jordan River into the Promised Land on dry ground. Their forty-year journey had come to an end.

Since the day many years earlier when God had delivered them from Egypt, He had done many miracles for them. We remember how He gave them a pillar of cloud by day and a pillar of fire by night to guide them. When they came to the Red Sea, He parted the waters and they passed over on dry ground. God gave them victory over the Amalekites. He provided them with manna and quail, and water from a rock. He gave them military victories over nations that opposed them along the way.

 When they finally arrived at the border of the Promised Land, the Jordan River stood between them and their destination. God told Joshua, “And it shall come to pass, as soon as the soles of the feet of the priests that bear the ark of the LORD, the LORD of all the earth, shall rest in the waters of Jordan, that the waters of Jordan shall be cut off from the waters that come down from above; and they shall stand upon an heap” (Joshua 3:13). Just as God said, when the priests' feet touched the water, the river stopped flowing. All the Children of Israel—and they numbered close to two million people—walked across on dry ground by the mighty power of God.

Follow the crossing, God commanded Joshua to take the memorial stones from the spot where the priests’ feet had stood firm when the waters were cut off. And He gave the reason: He did not want the Israelites to forget what had happened. In days to come, when children would ask their parents what the stones meant, they could explain what God had done for them at that place. Those stones were meant to preserve the memory of that great event.

Other spiritual memorials

We find examples of other spiritual memorials in the Bible. Genesis 28:18 tells of a memorial Jacob built where God met him in a mighty way after he left his home and started for Haran. In a dream, Jacob saw the angels of God ascending and descending a ladder that reached unto Heaven. This was not an ordinary dream: God showed Himself to Jacob! When Jacob awoke, he said, “Surely the Lord is in this place; and I knew it not” (Genesis 28:16). How did he respond to that amazing event? We read, “And Jacob rose up early in the morning, and took the stone that he had put for his pillows, and set it up for a pillar, and poured oil upon the top of it” (Genesis 28:18). He made a memorial! He called the name of that place Bethel, which means “House of God”—a place where God dwells.

The prophet Samuel also set up a memorial to God. In 1 Samuel 7:12 we read, “Then Samuel took a stone, and set it between Mizpeh and Shen, and called the name of it Ebenezer, saying, Hitherto hath the LORD helped us.” That memorial was to help the Israelites remember a great deliverance from the Philistines. Haven’t we had “Ebenezers” along the way—times when the Lord helped us as a church, as families, or as individuals? Those are our memorials, and we do not want to forget any of them.

In Exodus, 12:24-27, we read of the Passover—a feast that God instituted to remind the Israelites of their miraculous deliverance from Egypt. That was an amazing event, and they were not to forget it. In fact, to this day, many Jews still observe the Passover, recalling what God did and rehearsing the memory that God said they should keep.

The Lord’s Supper is another memorial in the Bible, and that one was established by Jesus himself. In Luke 22:19, we are told that Jesus gathered with His disciples and “took bread, and gave thanks, and brake it, and gave unto them, saying, This is my body which is given for you: this do in remembrance of me.” If you have been saved from sin, you need to look back and remember the great sacrifice that the Lord made for you. Observing the Lord’s Supper is one way we do so.

Why do we need spiritual memorials?

Spiritual memorials are necessary because we are prone to forget. Ten years ago I used to remember things, but now I have to make a concerted effort to do so. With the passing of time, memories dim. Our working memory is short and getting shorter as the years go by.

A man named George Miller, a pioneering cognitive scientist, is famous for his 1956 publication titled, “The Magical Number Seven, Plus or Minus Two.” In it, he stated that the average person can only hold about seven (plus or minus two) items in his or her working memory at any given time. He introduced the concept of grouping bits of information in order to retain them. That is why phone numbers with seven characters are divided into two groups that are separated by a dash.

Because of our tendency to forget, many of us have techniques to help us remember. If I don’t put appointments on my Outlook calendar, don’t expect me! That is why we use sticky notes or put reminders on our refrigerators—humans forget. But if we forget everything else, may we never forget the goodness of God. It will take concerted effort to remember all the times and ways the goodness of God has been manifested to us.

Another reason that we need spiritual memorials is to teach future generations. God told Joshua that the stones taken from the Jordan would be a conversation starter when the children asked their meaning. Their parents could then say, “Oh, you want to hear the story? Let me tell you what happened there.” God did not want the Children of Israel to forget His goodness to them, and those memorial stones were meant to help preserve the memory.

Establishing spiritual memorials

About thirty-five years ago, I heard of a man who said he was a Christian and kept a diary containing a list of people who had offended him. When he passed away, his children were at the cusp of coming to Christ. However, after their dad was buried, they went through his belongings and found the diary. When they read what he had written, they decided that if that was what Christianity was all about, they wanted nothing to do with it.

When I read that story, I decided to do something different. Like that man, I started a diary, but mine  contains scores and scores of victories that have occurred in our church. Back then, if I heard of a brother or sister who was going through a difficult time, I would write it down. Then I would take those names before God, praying, “God, help this one. Meet this brother’s needs. Resolve that situation for this family.” Later on, when I would hear testimonies of how God resolved the problem, I would go home and write in my diary, “Prayer answered on this date.”

I have that notebook here with me today. Recently, my son saw it and asked what it was. I said to him, “Do you want to hear about the goodness of God? Do you want to hear of how God has answered prayers? This notebook shows that we are a church where God answers prayers.” He took the notebook and flipped through its pages. And guess what? He recognized names of people who are still in the church today—individuals who came through very difficult times with victory. Many people have carried me to God in prayer when I was going through difficult times as well. We are a family! Together as a church, and independently as believers, we need to build memorials, and one way we can do that is to keep a record of answers to prayer.

Another way to establish memorials is through our testimonies. Revelation 12:11 says, “And they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb, and by the word of their testimony.” We enjoy the testimonies given in our church services. Sometimes when we testify, it may seem that our children are not listening. Be assured, they are listening. When we are gone from this earth, they will be able to say, “I remember how my dad would stand up and give a shout for the battle and testify to the goodness of God.” We keep spiritual memories alive when we testify! Parents, grandparents, and fellow believers, we cannot overestimate the power of our testimonies.

While we rehearse our stories verbally, we can also write out our testimonies. In Habakkuk 2:2, God instructed the prophet to “write the vision, and make it plain upon tables, that he that readeth may run.” We may forget details, but if it is written down, the blessings we recorded are preserved. Someday perhaps our children and our children’s children will see what we have written and be inspired and encouraged in the way of the Lord.

We must be deliberate in passing down our history and the blessings of God. In the Book of Judges we read that after the death of Joshua and the godly men around him, “there arose another generation after them, which knew not the Lord, nor yet the works which he had done for Israel” (Judges 2:10). That passage rips my heart open every time I read it. After Joshua’s generation passed off the scene, the next generation did not know what God had done for their forefathers! How did that happen? Perhaps the parents failed to teach them. Maybe they had done their best to educate their children in many other things, but failed to tell them about the goodness of God. What a tragedy!

Our mortal bodies will be gone from the scene someday, if the Lord does not come first. What God has done for us will be gone as well unless we have passed those memories on to our children, our grandchildren, and the next generation. If I leave this earth before the Lord comes, I want my family, the church, and all who know me to be able to say, “Brother Sola may be gone, but his testimony of deliverance from sin is still alive.” I want them to know what God has done in my life.

A time for evaluation

Not far from New York City, there is a grave with a headstone inscribed with just one word: “Forgiven.” There is no name, no date of birth, no date of death, no epitaph, no elaborate tribute; just the word “Forgiven.” That word symbolizes the ultimate importance of being right with God.

 Have you been forgiven? Have you begun stacking up stones of spiritual memorials in your life? Maybe there’s a memory of the time and place where God sanctified you or filled you with His Holy Spirit. Are you passing that on? Maybe there was a time when you were sick, the people of God prayed, and God healed you. Perhaps the doctors said they must have been mistaken in their diagnosis, but you know that the power of God intervened and changed everything. That is a memorial to you, but have you passed it on? Have you stacked up those stones?

The Psalmist said, “Bless the LORD, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits: who forgiveth all thine iniquities; who healeth all thy diseases; who redeemeth thy life from destruction; who crowneth thee with lovingkindness and tender mercies” (Psalm 103:2-4). He knew the importance of remembering the benefits of God! He passed it on through this psalm, and it has blessed hearts for centuries.

Today, what memorials are we building for those who come after us? May God help us to be faithful in passing on our memorials to the next generation.

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