A DAY OF INFAMY

I Was Just Thinking About – A DAY OF INFAMY.

President Franklin D. Roosevelt used “Infamy” (a day that will be known for some very bad deed) to describe the horror and loss caused by the Japanese Invasion at Pearl Harbor. Cal Thomas has written a column about that horrific day 75 years ago – December 7, 1941. “Only five of the 335 men who survived the unprovoked attack that sunk the USS Arizona on December 7, 1941, remain alive. Donald Stratton, 94, is one of them. He has added to the historical knowledge of that day and the beginning of America’s entry into World War II in a new book, All the Gallant Men: The First Memoir By a USS Arizona Survivor. Typical of so many men of that era, the book is…more about the men with whom he served. According to the book, total casualties at Pearl Harbor on that fateful day amounted to 2,403 dead and 1,176 wounded. Many of his shipmates lie interred in the bowels of the Arizona, which still secretes oil, a constant reminder to “never forget.” 

The byword emerging from that fateful day is – "Remember Pearl Harbor." To Remember – is to bring to mind or think of again; to retain in the memory. There is a much greater day of infamy that one is called upon to Remember. It should be purposeful for the Biblical Christian to properly celebrate the day of the birth of Jesus Christ. In doing so, one should never forget “Why” He was born. John the Baptist summarized it when he saw Jesus Christ – John 1:29 – “Look, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!” Again – in John 1:36 – “When he saw Jesus passing by, he said, Look, the Lamb of God!” People in that day were better able to conclude and equate the meaning of what John was saying, namely, Lamb and Sacrifice was being used synonymously. 

Jesus spoke to His disciples about a day of infamy coming very soon in their experience – His death. During a Passover meal – Luke 22:19 – Jesus “took the bread, gave thanks and broke it, and gave it to them, saying: This is My body, given for you; do this in remembrance of Me.” When Paul reflected back on that Last Supper statement, he incorporated it when he was establishing the parameters for such times set aside to “Remember.” 

In I Corinthians 11:23-26, Paul wrote: “I received from the Lord what I also passed on to you: that the Lord Jesus, on the night He was betrayed, took bread, and when He had given thanks, He broke it and said: This is My body, which is for you; do this in remembrance of Me…after supper He took the cup, saying: This cup is the new covenant in My blood; do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of Me. For as often as you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until He comes.”

Spiritually, this Day of Infamy is remembered in terms of one’s relationship to Jesus Christ. It is determinative in terms of where one will spend eternity – therefore – Remember His death. Remember that eternal life and heaven is available only in Him.

Prayerfully – consider and remember these things with me!