Did you know that the origin of the Memorial Day holiday can be traced back to a racetrack in South Carolina?

Known as the bloodiest war in the history of America, it’s estimated that close to 800,000 soldiers and slaves lost their lives during the Civil War. In his book, “Race and Reunion”, David Roos (NY Times, LA Times) tells the forgotten story of the first-ever Memorial Day.

“In the late stages of the Civil War, the Confederate army transformed a formerly posh country club & race track in Charleston, South Carolina into a makeshift prison for Union captives. More than 260 Union soldiers died from disease and exposure while being held in the race track’s open-air infield. Their bodies were hastily buried in a mass grave behind the grandstands.

When Charleston fell [to the Union] and Confederate troops evacuated the badly damaged city, those freed from enslavement remained. One of the first things those emancipated men and women did was to give the fallen Union prisoners [who had died fighting for their freedom] a proper burial. They exhumed the mass grave and reinterred the bodies in a new cemetery with a tall whitewashed fence inscribed with the words: “Martyrs of the Race Course.”

And then on May 1, 1865, something even more extraordinary happened. According to two reports that were found in The New York Tribune and The Charleston Courier, a crowd of 10,000 people, mostly freed slaves and white missionaries staged a parade around the racetrack. Three thousand Black school children carried bouquets and sang “John Brown’s Body.” Members of the famed 54th Massachusetts and other Black Union regiments were in attendance and performed double-time marches. Black ministers recited verses from the Bible.”

Over the years this incredible story has been forgotten, and Memorial Day has become about BBQs, Bonfires, & Beach Days rather than slavery, civil rights, or sacrifice.

We’ve forgotten about the racetrack!

Obviously, racetrack can refer to many different things.

The Physical - the life we live in the flesh. The rat race of life. The daily struggle to make ends meet and provide for your family!

The Emotional - the emotional race. The battle against depression. The endless pursuit of peace in a world rot with personal and relational distress

The Spiritual - the spiritual race as Paul alluded to. The pursuit of spiritual enlightenment and righteous living! The race that’s won through suffering and sacrifice.

The Cultural - But then there’s also the cultural race. The race war that we’ve been fighting in America and around the world for centuries! In particular, the race that was fought during the Civil War!

Don’t get me wrong, the remembrance of death in and of itself is not the most important thing for us to consider this Memorial Day. Rather, it’s the purpose behind those deaths.

Martin Luther King Jr. -- “If a man has not discovered something that he will die for, he isn’t fit to live.”

I might take it a step further and say, "If a man or woman hasn’t found something that he/she will suffer for, he/she isn’t fit to live."

Life without passion and purpose isn’t really life at all.

The Mission Statement of Convergence is "We exist to help people find Christ and fulfill their purpose."

You know you’ve found your purpose when you’ve found something you’re willing to die for.

Those Union Soldiers at the South Carolina racetrack found a purpose they were willing to die for. They wanted freedom and equality bad enough to sacrifice everything. What about you?

The concept of suffering for something you believe in goes back further than 200 years. If we go back 2,000 years we’ll find a group of individuals that had a cause they were willing to sacrifice for. Today we call it Christianity. Back then it was known as “The Way”.

"The Way of the Master"

This "Way" was modeled for them by God Himself who made the greatest sacrifice of all, His own Son!

He set a precedence of sacrifice and suffering for us to follow.

This is the reason that the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus is a story that historians remember to this day, some 2,000 years later. It wasn’t just His death, it was His suffering. It wasn’t just the suffering, it was the purpose behind His suffering.

The prophet Isaiah tells His story beautifully, some 700 years before Jesus walked the earth.

Jesus' death had purpose. His suffering had purpose. His death held the greatest purpose of all; the redemption of humankind! The ultimate physical, emotional, and spiritual healing that we begin to experience in the now and will ultimately experience in the resurrection.

Have you ever wondered why Paul, along with the rest of the Apostles, counted it an honor to suffer for the Gospel message just as Christ did? Because it carried that same purpose.

You and I are ministers of reconciliation! 2 Cor. 5:16-21

You may not realize it, but much like those Union soldiers that found themselves suffering for freedom’s sake in that South Carolina racetrack, we all find ourselves on a racetrack. A racetrack for freedom's sake! Freedom from the weight of sin on all of humanity. It starts with you. It starts with your Oikos!

Oikos: The 8-15 people that God has supernaturally and strategically placed in your immediate sphere of influence.

We’re all waiting to die. The question isn’t “Are you going to die?” The question is “What significance will your death have? And that’s determined by what you’re willing to sacrifice for.

It's not so much about what you're willing to sacrifice, but rather what you're willing to sacrifice for.

Career?
Family?
Health?
Fun?
BBQs, Bonfires, & Beach Days?

Or maybe it’s something greater. Maybe it’s a civil rights issue. Maybe it’s unity in the Union. Maybe it’s to protect this great country that we live in from foreign invasion. Those are all great things, but maybe there's something greater. Maybe it’s the same thing that the Apostles and prophets who went before us were sacrificing for.

Maybe it’s the Gospel of the Kingdom of God.

That’s why we’re here. We want to help people find Christ and fulfill their purpose. Are you willing to suffer and sacrifice for that?

Here are a few ways that you can sacrifice for the Kingdom.

You can sacrifice your time, your talents, and your treasures.

Time: #JustShowUp - attend your local church.

Talent: #JustServe - serve in your local church.

Treasure: #JustGive - give to your local church.

We’re all running a race. Winning or losing isn't as important as the purpose for which your run.