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 – 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).