Surviving Trials and Turmoil for Nearly 250 Years

This stirring image from a Jacquie Lawson e-card speaks volumes.

Two years from today, the USA will observe the 250^th anniversary of its founding – barring the calamity of calamities. The way things have been going in recent years, who knows? Hopefully we’ll remain the United States of America and not the Untied States.

 

Every Independence Day, July 4, is a good time to pause and reflect on the rich heritage of our nation, the wonder that it even came to be, and its inherent qualities that have drawn millions of men, women and children from around the world to this unique expanse of geography.

 

Having been born on the Fourth of July, almost by default I’m what George M. Cohan termed a “Yankee Doodle Dandy.” The strains of John Philip Sousa marches like “Stars and Stripes Forever,” “The Washington Post,” and “The Thunderer” never fail to give me goosebumps. 

 

And whenever I observe fireworks shows, whether on TV from New York City or Washington, D.C., or local displays in person, I can’t help but think of the courage, determination, vision and sacrifice required to create and sustain this nation. It seems the term “patriot” has become an epithet in the minds of some, but to echo the words of Lee Greenwood, I’m “proud to be an American.”

 

Conflict and unrest the United States is experiencing today remind me of the 1960s, when protests and demonstrations for civil rights and against the Vietnam War set our country’s teeth on edge. Consider some of the lyrics of “For What It’s Worth” by Buffalo Springfield, one of the best-known protest songs of the mid-60s:

“There’s something happening here

But what it is ain’t exactly clear

There’s a man with a gun over there

Telling me I got to beware…

 

There’s battle lines being drawn

Nobody’s right if everybody’s wrong

Young people speaking their minds…

 

Singing songs and they carrying signs

Mostly say, ‘Hooray for our side’…”

 

That song seemed revolutionary during my college days, but a similar scenario was played out in the first century A.D. The apostle Paul’s arrival had ignited a great disturbance among the citizenry of the ancient, polytheistic Greek city of Ephesus. Acts 19:32 describes the situation this way: “The assembly was in confusion: Some were shouting one thing, some another. Most of the people did not even know why they were there” (Acts 19:32). The same could be said about some of the demonstrations we see on the evening news.

 

The teaching of civics and social studies is no longer practiced in many public schools, but even a casual study of U.S. history reveals political and ideological infighting has been a staple of our society. Battle lines always being drawn, people speaking their minds (typically with great zeal), and often declaring, “Hooray for our side.”

 

Nevertheless, in many ways the United States remains the “go-to” destination for countless thousands. Why else would so many people be endeavoring to gain entry, whether through legal or illegal means? Our materialistic way of life may be one of the magnets, but so are our freedoms – of speech, religion, assembly, the press, and many others.

 

Some of our cherished freedoms seem in jeopardy, and I believe we should do all we can to protect them. But for followers of Jesus Christ – citizens not only of this temporal nation but also of the eternal kingdom of God – the freedoms we have received from Him are secure. Here are some of them:

 

Freedom from the power of sin. “It is for freedom that Christ set us free. Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery [to sin]” (Galatians 5:1).

Freedom from the judgment of sin. “Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ, because through Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit of life set me from the law of sin and death” (Romans 8:1).

Freedom to live as God intends for us to live. “You, my brothers, were called to be free. But do not use your freedom to indulge the sinful nature; rather, serve one another in love. The entire law is summed up in a single command: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself’” (Galatians 5:13-14).

Freedom from fear of death. “In My Father’s house are many rooms; if it were not so, I would have told you. I am going there to prepare a place for you…that you also may be where I am” (John 14:1-3).

 

We could cite many others. While we rightfully celebrate the anniversary of our nation’s founding, every day we can and should celebrate our citizenship in an everlasting kingdom, described in 1 Peter 1:14 as, “an inheritance that can never perish, spoil or fade – kept in heaven for you.”

 

On Independence Day, we remember the sacrifices of many brave, selfless individuals to preserve our freedoms. As we do so, let’s not forget the One who made the greatest sacrifice of all on our behalf. “But God demonstrates His own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us” (Romans 5:8).

Freedom From a Slavery We’ve All Experienced

Discourse over the COVID-19 crisis has taken a curious turn in recent weeks with restrictions in place to prevent the spread of the virus being slowly lifted. Suddenly, concern has shifted to personal freedom. Does the government – federal and local – really have the authority to tell people not to go to work, or to engage in their favorite activities, including going to their chosen places of worship?

This flag displayed in historic Charleston,
S.C. honors our nation and all who gave
their lives to defend it.

This is particularly interesting as we observe another Memorial Day, dedicated annually to honor many thousands of Americans who have given their lives in wars through the centuries – all in the name of freedom. And I do hope that we all take some time to remember them and appreciate the fact that if it weren’t for them, we’d likely be living in some form of tyranny. They knew – and paid – the high cost of freedom.

Through the centuries, freedom has been at the forefront of the battlefield campaigns, seeking to ensure that citizens of the United States would be free to think and say and do whatever they wish. Blood shed both here and abroad, we recall on this national holiday, should not have been shed in vain.

We’ve become spoiled, but since the days of the Constitution’s writing, it’s become a basic American tradition to enjoy life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. Now, unfortunately, many of us take this for granted. When something arises to impede that pursuit, whether a pandemic, government edicts or anything else, we tend to get annoyed – or worse.

Perhaps this a lesson to be learned from the pandemic. Not to take too lightly the right to jump in the car and go to the mall, earn a living, worship as we choose, or root for our favorite sports teams in real-time action

Often, when the subject of freedom arises, there are those who point to its ugly antithesis, slavery. This will always be a dark chapter in American history. In some ways, its repercussions continue to be felt today. Sadly, even though it’s not widely reported, for many nations around the world slavery remains a reality, an unchanged fact of social norms and customs. Whether slavery ever will be extinguished on a global scale remains to be seen.

But when considering both freedom and slavery, in one real sense, we’ve all been enslaved. At least if we’re to believe what the Bible tells us.

“Jesus replied, ‘Very truly I tell you, everyone who sins is a slave to sin. Now a slave has no permanent place in the family, but a son belongs to it forever. So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed’” (John 8:34-36). So there’s bad news and good news. First, the bad news: From the beginning of time, sin has been the greatest slave owner of all. Adam and Eve set the precedent, when they defied one simple command God had given them. Since then, like a gene in our individual DNA, sin has been ensnaring us all and fights hard not to let go.

In a powerful passage, Romans 5-8, the apostle Paul explores this problem in depth. He writes, “just as sin entered the world through the one man, and death through sin, and in this way death came to all men, because all sinned…” (Romans 5:12). There are no exceptions to this dreadful fact.

Then, the apostle begins to unfold the good news, expounding on the importance of Jesus Christ’s death and then, His resurrection: “For if, by the trespass of the one man, death reigned through that one man, how much more will those who receive God’s abundant provision of grace and of the gift of righteousness reign in life through the one man, Jesus Christ” (Romans 5:17).

Later, Paul raises the subject of slavery – to sin. “When you were slaves to sin, you were free from the control of righteousness. What benefit did you reap at that time from the things you are now ashamed of? Those things result in death! But now that you have been set free from sin and have become slaves to God, the benefit you reap leads to holiness, and the result is eternal life” (Romans 6:21-22).

The apostle continues to expand on that truth in the succeeding chapters, but it boils down to the reality that apart from Christ, even though it seemed we were “free,” we actually we enslaved to sin, its impulses and desires. Being born again, made new in Christ, however, releases us from sin’s destructive tyranny. As he writes elsewhere, in Galatians 5:1, “It is for freedom that Christ has set us free.”

So as we pause in remembrance of the brave soldiers who sacrificed their lives so we in America could enjoy the rights and freedoms we have, it would be good to reflect on an even greater sacrifice: Jesus Christ giving His life on the cross to provide the necessary atonement for a debt we could never pay, and offer freedom from sin, the tyrant that cannot be bound by nationality or ethnicity, culture, language or gender. Remember – and never forget.

Freedom Found in the Most Unusual Places

When you hear the word “freedom,” what comes to mind? Some people would say it means you can do whatever you want. Others might envision a bird soaring on high, free to fly wherever it chooses to go. For centuries, freedom has been one of the hallmarks of the United States, although there seems to be a push in some quarters to redefine what that means.

When I think of freedom, an image emerges that I’ve often seen while driving on the interstate through Kentucky: A thoroughbred horse cavorting in a sprawling meadow, at liberty to run as fast as it wants to within the confines of the pasture fencing. It’s free, but not so free that it can run onto the nearby interstate highway, putting itself and drivers passing by at risk.

One reason I’ve been thinking about this is because of a segment I caught recently on CBS’s “60 Minutes.” It was about a highly successful prison reform program; I tuned in late, so I didn’t get the name of the initiative or where the prison was located. But a comment from one of the prisoners, serving a lifetime sentence, stuck with me.

Not all prisoners are behind bars.

This inmate had begun mentoring other prisoners, teaching them how to make positive changes in their lives, anticipating their day of release from incarceration. The interviewer asked the lifer what he gets out of investing in fellow prisoners, since he has no hope of becoming freed from prison himself.

His response was simple: “Redemption. I don’t want to die a waste.”

It’s interesting that someone many of us would regard as the least free of all people would essentially being saying that this program has given him the freedom to find meaning in life. Describing himself as having “a Ph.D. in wrong choices,” the inmate saw his involvement in mentoring as giving him the freedom to make a difference in the world, even from behind bars.

The portion of the segment I saw made no mention of a Christian or biblical basis for this approach, which was dramatically reducing recidivism among ex-offenders that have been released. But I suspect there had to be a spiritual element to it. How often have you heard the word “redemption” used in connection with someone imprisoned? 

Can it be that, like the thoroughbred horse given great freedom within safe boundaries, it’s possible to find freedom even in prison? Certainly Jesus Christ promised that. He said to those sincerely seeking to know eternal truth,“You will know the truth, and the truth will set you free” (John 8:32). Even within prison walls, beyond any expectation of ever venturing outside them, this inmate was experiencing freedom.

Perhaps, through Christ, he had been freed of the burden of sin and its guilt, exchanging it for blessed, eternal forgiveness. He was free to discover the joys of Jesus’ promise, “It is more blessed to give than to receive” (Acts 20:35). After a lifetime of making wrong, self-centered decisions that led to his conviction and imprisonment, the inmate had become free to give, to invest himself, in others. And he was freed to start building a lasting, positive legacy despite the confines that restricted his physical movement.

It's interesting that some who have never seen the inside of a prison can actually be less free than this fellow. They might be held captives by the shackles of sins they can’t seem to overcome. Maybe they find themselves enslaved to cancerous emotions of bitterness and unforgiveness. Perhaps they’re bound by the consequences of ill-advised decisions that have dashed cherished dreams.

But the Scriptures offer us the assurance that no matter who we are, no matter where we happen to go, freedom can be ours through Jesus Christ. “It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery” (Galatians 5:1).

Are you free? Or are you – or someone you know – being held captive, enslaved, by feelings or circumstances that keep you from becoming the person God has intended for you to be all along? Jesus said, “If the Son sets you free, you are free indeed” (John 8:36). Do you believe that? And are you willing to act accordingly?

Is It Time to Reconsider ‘Freedom’?

Who doesn’t like “free,” right? Maybe a free item when you purchase one like it – buy one, get one free. Maybe a free stay at some resort hotel, the only caveat being that you endure a very persuasive sales presentation. Or maybe a free lunch, free education, or free health insurance. There’s a lot to like about “free.”

So it’s appropriate on this Independence Day to pause and consider what the whole notion of “freedom” is all about. We’re celebrating the virtues of equality, life, liberty, the pursuit of happiness, and other “unalienable Rights.” The Constitution’s Bill of Rights consists of amendments written to protect many of these rights, including freedom of religious expression, free speech, freedom of the press, freedom to bear arms, and others.

These days, however, it seems the very concepts of freedom and liberty are under attack, being redefined by political and social agendas. The Constitution itself has come under fire by segments of society set on reshaping its meaning to accomplish their ends.

What does it truly mean to be “free”? When talking about liberty and freedom, how are we to understand these terms? What are the parameters, limits and boundaries within which we must exercise our freedoms? Is it time to reconsider, to revisit these questions?

It would seem interpretation of these freedoms – separated from what the Declaration calls “their Creator” – is subject to the whims, wiles and winds of ever-changing social mores. Even how our revered Supreme Court defines them depends on its current liberal-conservative makeup. Rather than serving as a constant, a standard and guide for “We the People of the United States” in our quest “a more perfect Union” and to “insure domestic Tranquility,” our Constitution and what the Founding Fathers meant when they wrote it has become a moving target.

I’ve always appreciated a very simple definition of freedom as “being free to do as we ought, rather than doing whatever we want.” The freedom to drive on the highway, for example, should also involve the constraint to drive at a reasonable speed, pay attention to what’s happening on the road, obey traffic signals, and show courtesy to other motorists.

The absolute authority on freedom, in my view, is what God has revealed in the Bible. It started in Genesis, when He told Adam and Eve, “You are free to eat from any tree in the garden (of Eden), but you must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil” (Genesis 2:16-17). From the get-go, God gave the first couple considerable latitude in their choices of food, with a single exception. But they decided that wasn’t enough freedom. They proceeded to exceed the limits of the freedom they had been given, and we’ve been pushing those boundaries ever since.

God gave the Ten Commandments to the Israelites, as well as all succeeding members of His eternal family, to instruct in how to have healthy, growing relationships with Him and everyone we meet from day to day. His intent wasn’t to be restrictive, but rather to provide a means for insuring what He might have termed “domestic tranquility.”

Commandments like “you shall not murder,” “you shall not steal,” “you shall not lie,” and “you shall not covet your neighbor’s possessions” (Exodus 20:1-17, Deuteronomy 5:6-21) don’t seem unduly harsh, do they? Especially in light of Jesus’ command to “love your neighbor as yourself” (Mark 12:33). However, many still find the commandments offensive. Especially ones that insist that we have no other gods before the one true God, should not worship idols, or “misuse the name of the Lord your God.” And for some, “do not commit adultery” is particularly problematic.

But without question, the Bible offers a plan for experiencing genuine freedom and liberty, a way to “be all that you can be,” as the U.S. Army marketing slogan used to promise years ago.

The apostle Paul wrote, “It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery” (Galatians 5:1). What did he mean by “a yoke of slavery”? Paul explained that in another of his New Testament letters:

“Do not offer the parts of your body to sin, as instruments of wickedness, but rather offer yourselves to God, as those who have been brought from death to life…. But now that you have been set free from sin and have become slaves to God, the benefit you reap leads to holiness, and the result is eternal life” (Romans 6:13-22).

In the gospel of John, Jesus made another clear assertion about freedom – freedom that’s not affected by changing philosophies and ideologies. He focused on freedom that can’t be redefined by government, society or political correctness when He declared, “Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free…. So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed” (John 8:32-36). We can be free to be and to become everything God has called us to be.

So as we celebrate the freedoms we have enjoyed in this nation known as the United States, we ought also to be grateful for the freedom we can have in Christ that spans eternity, transcends traditions, and crosses all gender, racial, ethnic and cultural barriers.

Freedom – Reality and Fantasy

Are we facing the sunset of freedom as we have known it?

July 4^th – Independence Day – will always be one of my favorite holidays. I can’t help it. As George M. Cohan wrote in his famous song, “I’m a Yankee doodle dandy, a Yankee doodle do or die…born on the fourth of July.” If I wasn’t born waving an American flag, I’m pretty sure my dad handed me one soon afterward.

Independence Day is a lot more than fireworks (although I enjoy them) and wearing shirts adorned with American flags (although I have some and wear them). It’s a day to celebrate freedom and liberty, and all they entail. Our nation has championed freedom like none other.

But it’s a funny thing, freedom. Of late we have seem to taken rights, privileges and entitlements and mashed them all together. I’m pretty certain the founding fathers never envisioned some of the “rights” and freedoms we’ve collectively embraced as a society.

At the same time, other freedoms have been curtailed. Like speech – free, it seems, only if what you have to say fits political correctness parameters. And religion – free only if kept utterly private, not permitted to overflow into one’s public life and actions. Speak up about what you believe – as least if it relates to the Bible – and there’s hell to pay.

I’m all for the idea that all men (and women and children) are created equal, endowed by their Creator (can we say that anymore?) with certain unalienable rights. Everyone should enjoy the fruits of life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.

The “American way,” however, used to mean that to find happiness, you worked for it. Why should that be different today? In some quarters today, freedom and entitlement have become synonymous.

Makes me wonder about the future of freedom.

Flags and crosses represent freedom,
but in very different ways.

But in pondering this elusive notion of freedom, I’m also reminded of a freedom that’s not in jeopardy, that wasn’t established by our Constitution – or any nation’s constitution, for that matter. It wasn’t decreed by an august legislative body. This freedom is offered in, of all places, the Bible. Galatians 5:1 tells us,“It is for freedom that Christ has set us free." The next verse elaborates, “Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened by a yoke of slavery.”

This “slavery” has nothing to do with the issues that erupted into the Civil War, when black Americans were considered nothing more than property to slave owners. The slavery viewed in the biblical passage concerns bondage to sin – rebellion against God and separation from Him.

Romans 6:1-7 explains by virtue of Jesus Christ’s death on the cross, “our old self was crucified with him so that the body of sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves to sin – because anyone who has died has been freed from sin.”

Put in every day terms, this means we can’t use the excuse, “The devil made me do it!” The devil might suggest something, and we might agree the idea sounds good, but we don’t have to do it. Followers of Jesus are forever freed from sin’s power and domination.

Hard to believe? Yes, but that’s what the Scriptures declare.

So as we ponder Independence Day's heritage and hope, remember disciples of Christ have an independence day of their own. But instead of a flag, its symbol is a cross. A cross that announces, “So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed” (John 8:36).

Happy Birthday, Miss Liberty!

Have you heard about Friday’s huge birthday celebration? The Statue of Liberty, one of America’s most iconic symbols, will officially be 125 years old. Designed by Frederic Bartholdi, the grand lady was dedicated on Oct. 28, 1886.

Growing up in New Jersey about 40 miles from New York City, I had numerous occasions to view the statue, though I’ve never stepped onto Liberty Island. In 2006 my wife and I passed the famed statue twice daily as we traveled by ferry to and from a friend’s home in Jersey City.

“Miss Liberty,” as she’s sometimes called, has always fascinated me. It’s partly because the statue in New York Harbor was one of my grandfathers’ first sights as they came from Hungary to the United States in the early 1900s. The statue stands just south of Ellis Island, where immigrants were processed upon arrival. What a vision she must have been for them as they anticipated forging new lives.

But it’s more than that. Since the founding of the United States, freedom has been foundational to our culture as is declared on the tablet in the statue’s left hand, measuring 23-feet, seven inches by 13-feet, seven inches. The tablet contains words from Emma Lazarus’s sonnet, “New Colossus”:

“Give me your tired, your poor,

your huddled masses yearning to breathe free,

the wretched refuse of your teeming shore.

Send these, the homeless, tempest-tossed to me,

I lift my lamp beside the golden door!”

We regard the word “liberty” as synonymous to freedom, basic rights, emancipation, the right to choose, independence. Unfortunately, I think another word has been added to this list in recent decades that never was intended: Entitlement.

When my grandfathers as very young men set foot on American shores for the first time, they didn’t regard themselves as “entitled.” No one owed them anything. All they asked for was an opportunity, the privilege of pursuing an honest living in exchange for an honest day’s work.

Both labored in steel mills in McKeesport, Pa., hard, unglamorous work, but provided for their families. Samuel Tamasy had two sons and two daughters; George Katona had three sons and five daughters. All became respectable, productive citizens.

I hope in days to come we can return to the roots of liberty, that people arriving on U.S. shores shall indeed be able to find and pursue opportunities, without expecting anything handed to them or insisting on a certain material lifestyle. In the Bible’s New Testament we find an admonition I believe has undergirded the American notion of personal responsibility and initiative: “If a man will not work, he shall not eat” (2 Thessalonians 3:10).

At the same time, let us not impede anyone motivated to work and achieve the satisfaction of building fruitful, meaningful lives. May the torch of liberty light their way.

Happy birthday, Miss Liberty!

Freedom…and Red, White and Blue

Over this long July 4^th weekend, we celebrate “the land of the free and the home of the brave,” as our national anthem concludes. Having been born on the Fourth of July, being a “Yankee Doodle Dandy” seems my birthright. Watching fireworks, or catching a glimpse of the red, white and blue unfurled against a clear blue sky, never fails to tug at my heartstrings.

One of the things I’m most proud of is our tradition of freedom. Freedom of speech enables us to express what’s on our mind. Freedom of religion allows us the worship – or not worship – as we choose. And freedom of the press empowers the media to write and report as they see fit. I don’t agree with everything people say, or the ways some people worship, or some of the news and commentary in newspapers, magazines, the Internet, TV and radio. But that’s what freedom is about.

This freedom did not come without a cost. Thousands of lives have been sacrificed on battlefields to protect our nation and preserve its freedoms. Men and women sacrificed time, energy, the very sweat of their brows, to provide for their families, teach young minds, explore the mysteries of science, provide civic leadership, and envision ways for making this world a better place.

The U.S.A. is called “the land of opportunity,” deservedly so. History has shown hard work, diligence, determination, creativity and vision will be rewarded. Even though recent years have been difficult economically, we still have the opportunity to pursue our callings, striving to use our unique gifts and abilities to the full – hopefully for the benefit of others.

But when thinking about freedom, we should not forget its source. Recently a TV network chose to edit the words “one nation under God” from a video of children reciting the Pledge of Allegiance. Despite that bow to “political correctness,” the fact remains – a primary impetus for our nation was spiritual. God indeed has blessed America. The question is, do we regard such blessing as a right, an entitlement, or as a gift with which we can bless others?

Those who follow Jesus know He made the ultimate provision for freedom. Galatians 5:1 tells us, “It is for freedom that Christ has set us free.” But interestingly, biblical freedom is equated to a form of slavery – “You have been set free from sin and have become slaves to righteousness” (Romans 6:18).

So as we celebrate another anniversary of the founding of our country and the freedoms it has bestowed, I rejoice even more in the freedom available to me – and to each of His children – through Jesus Christ. To become everything He created us to be!

Happy Independence Day!

Sunday marks the 61st anniversary of my first birthday party. (You do the math.) Even though Giessen, Germany was my birthplace – Dad was stationed there, Mom was there with him, and I wanted to be close to her at the time – I’m a Yankee doodle dandy, a real live, bonafide nephew of my uncle Sam. (My grandfather’s name also was “Sam” – Samuel.)

I’m a flag waver, a proud American, even though there is much in and about America we can’t be proud of. But that’s true of any nation. If there were such a thing as a perfect nation – like a perfect church – they wouldn’t let us in.

Some of the greatest music I’ve ever heard includes “The Star-Spangled Banner,” “Stars and Stripes Forever” and, yes, “Yankee Doodle Dandy.” Thank God for John Philip Souza and George M. Cohan.

Since its birth, freedom has been the byword of the United States. At times it seems “freedom” and “liberty” are interpreted to mean “license,” even “licentiousness,” but a hallmark of our country has always been allowing people to say and do – within the limits of the law – whatever they choose, even when we don’t agree.

Although some would disagree, I believe the values and principles that shaped the USA are inescapably rooted in biblical truth. In fact, the Bible speaks much about freedom: Moses led the captive Israelites out of Egypt so one day they could arrive at the Promised Land. Jesus died on the cross, freeing humankind from the tyranny of sin, and was resurrected to offer us new life. As Galatians 5:1 says, “It is for freedom that Christ set us free” – free to become all He desires for us to be.

So as I celebrate our free nation, I appreciate the freedom available through another Kingdom even more.