Free To Be

Painting by John Trumbull of Signing of the
Declaration of Independence

Two hundred forty-three years ago, 56 patriots signed the Declaration of Independence which gave us an independent nation--the United States of America.

The Declaration states, "All men are... are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness."

Today, there is so much incendiary debate about just what rights we are entitled to that Congress gets nothing done. Everyone focuses on what is right for me instead of what is best for all of us. Politicians remind me of the old idiom, "Don't cut off your nose to spite your face." They are so against helping the other party get anything done that we all, including them, suffer.

The truth is that while it's fine to want and seek life and liberty and to pursue happiness, we are not entitled to those things.

The Bible teaches that what we all really deserve is eternal punishment in hell because of our sin. But Ephesians 2:4 announces,

The good news of the gospel is that God doesn't give us what we deserve! Instead, because of His great love for humankind, He gives us His grace through the death and resurrection of His Son! What is grace? It is bestowing upon us all the good things we don't deserve--such as forgiveness and eternal life.

How does that great truth apply in our human relationships?

First, we need to recognize that we are not entitled to anything from anybody. Yet, American society is based on "entitlement," the attitude that we are owed only the good things in life.

• Advertisements bombard us with the message, "You deserve a break today," or "You owe it to yourself to buy_______."
• College graduates think they are owed a higher salary.
• Parents feel their children owe them good behavior for all the things they do for them.
• Senior citizens think younger people owe them respect.
• People believe the government owes them everything--free health care, free college, and so on.
• Illegal aliens deserve all the rights of citizens.
• The rich owe the poor.

And the list goes on.

Christians seem to think God owes them a life free of trouble and suffering. But God doesn't owe us anything! He's already paid a debt we owed for sin that we could never repay.

The truth is, nobody owes anyone anything. To believe we deserve to get our needs met is arrogant. To expect special treatment as appropriate payment for what we do for someone else only invites anger, resentment, bitterness, and rebellion, which destroy relationships.

A sense of entitlement is self-serving, but focusing on how we can meet the needs of others fosters emotional well-being, cooperation, and mutual respect. Mutual giving builds relationships.

For our own well-being, we need to let go of feelings of entitlement. Instead, we need to follow God's example and practice grace!

Thank God for the freedom we have to be all we can be in Christ!

Happy Fourth of July!

Remember Our Fallen Heroes

As a school girl growing up in Alaska, I remember creating posters for a contest to commemorate the sacrifice of the fallen heroes of our wars. Then on May 30, we celebrated Memorial Day with a parade on the streets of downtown Juneau. Row after row of veterans in uniforms marched by to the beat of John Philip Sousa.

Courtesy Google.com

Memorial Day, originally called Decoration Day, originated in 1868 when General John Logan, commander of the Grand Army of the Republic, issued an order for every military post to hold suitable exercises and decorate the graves of the Civil War dead. In 1873, the veterans' organization in New York persuaded the state legislature to make May 30 a public holiday to commemorate the war dead. With the passing of history, the last Monday of May has been designated as a day for remembering all our dead.

When we remember the dead, what are we remembering?

1. Our Founding Fathers for their work in building up this great nation
2. The fallen heroes of all wars for preserving the United States as a free land
3. Our parents and grandparents for the sacrifices they made to rear us and provide for us and equip us for life

Many people throughout history have worked hard, fought wars, and brought up children, so why is America so blessed? Because of God. If any nation should remember God, it is the United States of America. His hand was evident in our founding, and He has blessed us exceedingly.

In spite of all the difficulties we face as a country, we are still the most prosperous nation in the
world. This Memorial Day let's thank God for our blessings.

When we think of God's blessings, our material blessings often come to mind first. The most important blessing, however, is our freedom, especially our religious freedom.

My own Huguenot ancestors fled persecution and martyrdom in 17th Century France and came to America seeking religions freedom. They settled in what is now Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, and named their town "Paradise" because they had finally found the freedom to worship God according to the dictates of their own conscience.

Who should we remember most of all this Memorial Day? 

Jesus said, "Greater love has no one than this, than to lay down one's life for his friends." John 15:13. Our war dead laid down their lives that we might continue to have freedom. Someone who died for us that we might really live is Jesus Christ. The death of our loved ones and our soldiers often bring many questions, but Jesus' death brought us only answers. His death bought us liberty, true liberty.

What is true liberty?

• Liberty that is not hindered by prison bars
• Liberty that does not depend on the strength of our military 
• Liberty that does not depend on the value of the dollar or the availability of oil 
• His death gives us more than liberty; it bought us eternal life. 
• Jesus won the most important battle of all. He conquered sin and death for us.

In commemoration of the 200th birthday of our nation in 1976, Neil Enloe, of The Couriers, wrote a song, "Statue of Liberty," in which he compared the Cross of Christ to the Statue of Liberty (The Original Couriers sing "Statue of Liberty"):

The Cross is my Statue of Liberty;

It was there that my soul was set free.

As the Statue liberates the citizen,

So the Cross liberates the soul.

This Memorial Day, let's remember our friends, our relatives, and our war heroes who have died. Let's remember too the way God has blessed our land, our nation, our lives.

Let's celebrate Jesus who has bought us true liberty.

Would You Have Signed It?

Two hundred thirty-nine years ago, 56 patriots signed the Declaration of Independence which gave us an independent nation--the United States of America. Who can recount today the high price they paid by signing that document?

Painting by John Trumbull of Signing of the
Declaration of Independence

History tells us that five of the signers were captured by the British and tortured as traitors before they died. Twelve had their homes ransacked and burned. Two lost their sons in the Revolutionary War. Another had two sons captured.

Others lost their wives, their homes, and their fortunes and died penniless. Nine of the signers fought and died from wounds or the hardships of the war. One wealthy trader saw all of his ships swept from the seas by the British navy. He had to sell his home and properties to pay his debts and died in rags.

These men were lawyers and jurists, merchants, farmers, and plantation owners. They were not wild-eyed, rabble-rousing ruffians. They were soft-spoken men of means and education.

They had security, but they valued liberty more. Standing tall, straight, and unwavering, they signed the Declaration of Independence knowing full well that the penalty would be death if they were captured. By signing, they pledged their lives, their fortunes, and their sacred honor.

Signatures on the Declaration of Independence

According to the Catholic Observer, 2,300 federal employees in twelve Washington agencies were shown a quotation from the Declaration of Independence without being told what it was and were asked to sign the document. Sixty-eight percent refused to sign. Some claimed the quotation was from, among other sources, the Christian Science Monitor and the Communist Manifesto.

Would you have signed it?

Freedom is not free. It costs dearly. Brave soldiers are still dying for our freedom. What are we doing to keep it?

Jesus died for our ultimate freedom--from the chains of sin and death. "Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by the yoke of slavery" (Galatians 5:1, NIV). Are we standing firm?