Freedom

Live as free men, but do not use your freedom as a cover-up for evil; live as servants of God. –

1 Peter 2:16

I am proud to be an American. When the patriotic songs play, the sniffing in the background is me. There’s just something that touches my heart cords when it comes to thinking about the freedoms I’ve been given.

I was raised in a household where you always placed your hand over your heart during the national anthem, and your hat came off every time an American flag passed by. My father was a veteran of World War II. At the ripe age of 17, he entered the U.S. Army and proudly fought in the Pacific Theatre. He was shot through the neck and shoulder by a sniper, then wounded a second time by a mortar shell. My dad was a courageous man who did not think twice about his own safety, rather he thought of the greater good in the job he was given. He, along with thousands of other brave men and women, paid a huge price for the freedoms each one of us enjoy today.

Freedom is an ironic word in the fact that it’s root word is free. There’s nothing free about freedom – it was bought and paid for with the lives of thousands who believed in the cause. A day never passes that I do not give thanks for those who stayed the course. Where would we be without their sacrifice?

A different type of freedom was bought and paid for through a battle that is still being waged. We are free from sin’s price because of the sacrifice of Christ. Because of Him, the curtain in the temple was torn and now, nothing separates from the Father. This sacrifice broke the bondage of death and sent Satan kicking and screaming in defeat. Still there are those who are not grateful – those who refuse to look at the grander scheme of things. They find pleasure in their greed and sin, covering it beneath the blanket of freedom and the “right to have.”

Our soldiers who have died, gave their lives in the name of freedom, so that others may enjoy its rewards, servants of our country. Jesus, the ultimate servant, died that we might enjoy the privileges of eternal life. Regardless of how we look at the issue, our freedom, spiritual and physical, came to us in blood. Blood shed freely so that others might live.

We are a nation who is blessed, but we are a people loved by God – loved so much, that He sent His son to fight the battle in our behalf. Are you grateful for the freedom?

Prayer: Precious Lord, we are so undeserving of the glories You have blessed us with. Thank You, Father for the sacrifice made in our behalf.