The Price of Freedom

In anticipation of July 4^th I’m reposting something I wrote four years ago:

This Friday, people across America will be celebrating Independence Day.  In essence it’s the celebration of freedom.  And oh, what a great thing that is!  And what a great country we live in!  Though in some ways I see our freedoms eroding, I believe we still live in a land where we are free to dream and then make those dreams come true; where we are equal in the eyes of the law regardless of our race or social position; where we are free to practice the religion of our choice. But it all came with a price.  And someone else had to pay it.  It wasn’t free at all.  People died, blood was shed, families were separated, and hardships endured, and on July 4^th our nation will remember that.

But there’s another freedom, even more precious, that also was paid by blood and separation and hardship.  It’s the freedom from sin and death that Jesus purchased for us at the cross.  And oh, how costly that freedom was!  But how willingly Jesus paid it!  Those of us who are called by His name know the freedom of which I speak.  It is the freedom that a clear conscience brings after knowing you are forgiven every wretched thing you’ve ever done; the freedom from fear of the future, for our future is in His hands; the freedom that comes in knowing that our eternal destiny is sealed.

I love my country and value it greatly.  But our life on this planet is so brief—a passing vapor the Bible calls it—so the freedom we should seek, the freedom we should prize about all others is that which is found in Jesus, for it is the freedom we will enjoy throughout eternity.

Wishing you all a happy 4^th!  God bless America!

Until next time,

Sylvia