Memorial Day is the right time to reflect on the costs of war and why they are sometimes worth paying.

Today should be a reminder, especially, perhaps, to Christians, that sometimes fights need to be fought. We worship a God who mandated governments to use the sword to deploy violent action, in the last resort and in measures sufficient to win the fight, when nothing but proportionate and discriminate force will protect the innocent, take back what has been unjustly taken, or punish sufficiently grave evil.

It was a day, in the words of President Franklin Roosevelt, when “the pride of our nation” began a battle…