Why do men establish memorials? Simply to perpetuate the memory of some great person, place, event or thing.
When Jacob was en route to Padan Aram fleeing from the wrath of his brother, Esau, for having, with the help of his mother, manipulated him out of his blessing and birthright due to the firstborn, stopped to rest one night and used a stone for a pillow. In a dream he saw angels ascending and descending a ladder from heaven. At the top stood the Lord, and he renewed the covenant he had made with Abraham and Isaac. When he awoke the next morning, he was afraid and said, surely the Lord is in this place and I knew it not." He took the stone, poured some oil on it and called the place Bethel--that is "House of God."
About 300 years later, we find Moses content to enjoy the simplicity and seclusion of a shepherd's life near Mt. Sinai. That is until he heard the call of God from a burning bush to go and deliver his people from Egyptian bondage. He has been immortalized as the giver of the Ten Commandments.
The Lord's Supper is the greatest memorial ever established, or instituted, for it shows forth the manner in which our Lord and Savior, even the Son of God, offered himself as a fitting sacrifice for our sins on Calvary's cross, despising the shame and disgrace of being crucified. It also shows forth the depth and intensity of his love for us (all mankind).
The Washington and Lincoln Memorials in Washington, D.C. memorialize two great, Americans--the father of our country and savior of our nation from permanent division. Men become great when they lose themselves in the love and service to their country, the church or to others; without counting the cost or seeking a reward.
We have some wonderful memorials in our country for we have much and many to memorialize. But memorials are of little value if we do not preserve the high and noble principles that the memorials represent.
So, whether we memorialize our military men and women, our great religious leaders or simply our loved ones who have gone before us, let us be ever vigilant in our daily lives to preserve the great moral and spiritual values and lofty ideals of those whom we pause to remember and pay tribute to.