Let Freedom Ring

This week our nation celebrates and remembers the veterans of our military service. We recognize the sacrifices they have made and continue to make on our behalf and on behalf of countless others who live in tyranny and oppression.

I grew up in an Air Force family and was raised with a deep respect for God and country. Every time I hear the Star Spangled Banner I get goosebumps and pride wells up from deep inside. My grandfather served in the Army and in WWII. My father is a retired Lt. Colonel in the Air Force and still teaches at the Air Force Academy. I have a brother that is active duty Army and has served one 15-month tour in Iraq and will be leaving again very soon.

While I have not experienced any type of deployment, I do understand the waves of emotions (from pride to worry/fear) that can overwhelm family members who have loved ones in violent areas of our world. Whenever I hear of a soldier who has died, I am reminded of how fragile life is and how my own family stands on the threshold of such news when my brother is deployed. I thank God for these men and women who willingly put themselves in harms-way to let freedom ring.

Our world also celebrated the 20th anniversary of the falling of the Berlin Wall on Monday. On November 9, 1989, our world experienced the destruction of a wall that had kept freedom out and had silenced the voices of those contained within its stone-cold barriers. I grew up in the Cold War era, always aware of the Berlin Wall. It seemed so solid, so impenetrable, so eternal. I never thought I'd see the day when that wall would come down. As a 17 year-old youth, that moment had a deep impact on me, as it reminded me of the preciousness of freedom and also its delicate nature.

Freedom in the world is a fragile thing. It can be granted and taken away before you know it. One day you are able to move freely, talk freely, worship freely, and make your own choices freely, and the next day a wall can be built that limits your freedom and liberty and you find that you are fighting for your right to survive as a free person. Freedom in the world is not a certainty. Men and women valiantly and courageously fight for it, some giving their life for it. For that, they deserve our respect, our honor, and our rememberance.

As a Christian, I understand the fragility of freedom in our world, while fully understanding the true freedom that comes from our Savior. In John 8 beginning in verse 31 "Jesus said...'If you abide in my word, you are my disciples indeed. And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free."

God's freedom refers to the spiritual freedom we have in His Kingdom, not to the physical or earthly freedoms of the world. Walking with Jesus, we may experience rejection, persecution, alienation, even death, but such struggles do not infringe on the freedom we enjoy in Christ! Galatians 5:1 says, "Stand fast therefore in the liberty by which Christ has made us free, and do not be entangled again with a yoke of bondage."

Friends, whether we are able to experience the freedoms of this world or not, we can give all praise and glory for the true freedom that exists in Christ and the promise that our souls and our spirits do not have to live in a yoke of bondage. May we never forget that true freedom does not exist apart from Christ. May we, like the veterans we celebrate this week, fully commit our lives to telling others about the freedom that is found in Christ. May we risk our reputations, our emotions, our relationships, our treasures, and our lives so that others may live in true freedom. LET FREEDOM RING!

God of grace and mercy, You have created me with freedom...freedom to choose life over death...freedom to choose love over hatred...freedom to choose joy over despair and hope over fear...freedom to choose You. Guide me with Your wisdom to choose wisely with the freedom You have so graciously given that through my life Your freedom may ring!

Take Care & God Bless,

Pastor Don