Picture in your mind the soldier at Valley Forge, as he holds his musket in his bloody hands. He stands barefoot in the snow, starved from lack of food; wounded from months of battle, and emotionally scarred from the eternity away from his family. He is surrounded by nothing but death and the carnage of war.
He stands tough, with fire in his eyes and victory in his heart. He looks at us across the centuries in anger and disgust and tells us: “I gave you my birthright of freedom born in the Constitution and now your children graduate too illiterate to read it.
“I fought in the snow barefoot to give you freedom to vote, and you stay at home because it rains. I left my family destitute to give you freedom of speech, and you remain silent on critical issues, because it might be bad for business. You “badmouth” the country because you are irritated at something the politicians do. I orphaned my children to give you a government to serve you, and you are apathetic when democracy is stolen from the people.”
It is the soldier, not the reporter, that gives you freedom of the press. It is the soldier, not the poet, that gives you freedom of speech. It is the soldier, not the campus organizer, who allows you to demonstrate. It is the soldier who salutes the flag, serves the flag, whose coffin is draped with the flag, that allows the protester to burn the flag. Shame! Shame!
“Lord, hold our troops in Your loving hands. Protect them as they protect us. Bless them and their families for the selfless acts of heroism they perform for us in our time of need. Press close to them the hope of just coming home safe.” (copied)
Freedom is not free. The slogan is simple, “You may differ but you can’t divide.” Freedom is responsibility. There is no other definition that correctly displays the real meaning of being free.
“…Christ hath made us free…” “For, brethren, ye have been called unto liberty; only use not liberty for an occasion to the flesh, but by love serve one another.” Galatians 5:1,13. With the liberty in Christ, comes the responsibility to use it for Christ.
As Americans, we all cherish the Bill of Rights. As Christians, we enjoy the privilege to stand for what we believe. But with this freedom comes the responsibility: “But if ye bite and devour one another, take heed that ye be not consumed one of another.” Galatians 5:15. As we see the folly of those who spit on or burn the flag, let us also be advised against the folly of doing those things that undermine the local New Testament Church.
SHARING
