The Call of Freedom
“But when a long train of abuses and usurpations, pursuing invariably the same Object evinces a design to reduce them under absolute Despotism, it is their right, it is their duty, to throw off such Government and to provide new Guards for their future security.—Such has been the patient sufferance of these Colonies; and such is now the necessity which constrains them to alter their former Systems of Government.”
As I read the Declaration of Independence, I realized they were not fighting words; they were the call of freedom.
There were two choices before the people of the land: submit to tyranny or form their own system of government to become one nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all. The easy way out was continued acceptance and submission; an ease that demanded complete bondage. The alternative mandated courage, true commitment to the values they held dear, and an absolute resolve to overcome no matter the cost.
The final decision would set in motion the birth of a nation or the death of a hope and destiny.
What a moment it must have been for Jefferson, pen in hand, poised to write a declaration that would affect millions to come, but at the time may just as well have been his own death sentence! What a moment it must have been for the 13 colonies to bond together in agreement and assert freedom, liberty, and justice are universal, God given rights worth fighting for, no matter the cost.
They did not know what would come of the journey they were about to embark on, they only knew they must do what is right and God would do the rest.
Through the years God’s faithfulness has kept the heartbeat of this nation going through the men and women who had the courage and the foresight to know that without careful tending, there will always be those who want to snatch freedom and liberty away under the pretense of safety and security.
With every generation, these men and women appear to represent an ever dwindling minority, but the choice remains the same year after year; as vitally important then as it is now.
Ask yourself:
Will I do all I can to hold true to the covenant and constitution my Forefathers so carefully wrote and God so graciously blessed, or will I watch it, word by word, be erased by complacency and fear?
Will I look at my children and decide the cause of freedom and liberty is worth securing for them or will I choose to let those precious gifts be taken on my watch?
Will I embrace my responsibility to train my children to love God and value freedom?
Today, as the birth of freedom and liberty in America is celebrated from sea to shining sea, I have purposed in my heart (as I do every year) that I will be right beside those who made the choice to let freedom, not chains, ring!
Who will join me?
“Freedom is never more than one generation away from extinction. We didn’t pass it to our children in the bloodstream. It must be fought for, protected, and handed on for them to do the same or one day we will spend our sunset years telling our children and our children’s children what it was once like in the United States where men were free”