Freedom

I remember taking a school field trip with my fellow classmates to the city known for freedom – Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.  What impressed me the most was seeing the Liberty Bell with its infamous crack and reading the story behind it.  When we were younger, did we really understand what freedom meant and how blessed we were to wake up every day in the land of the free?  But that changed, as an adult now, when I remember listening to my 97 year old father-in-law vividly recall frightening stories of his experiences when he was a teenager in his small England coastal town during World War II.  It definitely gives me an appreciation of what it means to fight for our freedom.  When we sing the song GOD Bless America, our freedom takes on a more critical meaning.  That song is actually a prayer, asking God to “stand beside her and guide her through the nights with a light from above.”  God blessed us, you and me, and our desires of freedom – freedom to gather together in prayer, to openly express our faith, to educate ourselves through books, church writings and Christian history.  In other words, express our beliefs openly and without persecution, in our one true maker.  So many saints throughout history died tragic and unthinkable deaths in order that the name of Jesus would continue to ring in freedom to worship.  I encourage you to pick up a book or article and read one of the thousands of stories about the lives of one of these brave men and women, both in our military and all our heroes throughout history..  Each and every one of them sacrificed their lives for us, playing a vital role in our freedoms we enjoy each day.  They are the reason you and I can continue to walk through our church doors and worship in true freedom.  I pray that we never take that for granted.  God Bless America!

“Live as free people, but do not use your freedom as a cover-up for evil.  Live as God’s slaves.”  1Peter 2:16