Let Freedom Ring True

O say can you see by the dawn's early light
What so proudly we hailed at the twilight's last gleaming
Whose broad stripes and bright stars through the perilous fight
O'er the ramparts we watched, were so gallantly streaming?
And the rocket's red glare, the bombs bursting in air
Gave proof through the night that our flag was still there
O say does that star-spangled banner yet wave
O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave?

-Francis Scott Key-

Freedom. It’s a beautiful word. It’s also an expensive word that cost our country a great deal to possess it. Lives lost, wars engaged, bombs bursting. It’s free to those of us who have not experienced the action of serving our country, it may very well have cost everything to those who have. The land of the free was bought with a heavy price, it was bought with the blood of the brave.

And yet, so many of us don’t feel free, do we? We feel trapped, bound, and tortured by the struggles in our lives.. Bombs are bursting in our air space, we are walking right through the heat of a perilous fight. There are battle wounds and deep scars, sometimes physical and sometimes emotional. We hurt, we bleed, we cry and we shout out for any relief from our mess.

That’s where true freedom is critical. Freedom that, too, was bought with the shedding of blood - only this time it required the sacrifice of one man alone, Jesus. And like our selfless soldiers, He willingly walked into the battle knowing this was the only way to win the war. But, His sacrifice didn’t preserve the freedom of one republic. It opened the gates of Heaven to EVERY tribe, EVERY tongue, EVERY nation.

And the best news is that this freedom comes in the all-encompassing form of spiritual freedom. It covers the totality of the bad, the ugly, the regrets that our hearts can’t seem to comprehend forgiveness for. The pardoning of every sin committed falls under the freedom of salvation and that freedom comes with the ability to move past any darkness that is relentlessly caging us in. The door is open now, you just have to take the step to walk through it. And once you do, you gain access to ultimate freedom. This world will still be a war at times. The battle doesn’t stop on this side of eternity but we can have all the confidence in this world that we have a Hero standing by us through every moment of it and Heaven is ours to gain in the end.

Happy Independence Day to my fellow Americans. A sincerest thank you to all who have served and sacrificed for our ability to live in a country that affords us our physical freedom. You truly are a picture of Christ. And my deepest gratitude to my Savior who has literally given it ALL so that complete freedom can be embraced by anyone, anywhere. My dear friends, let’s celebrate all we’ve been given at no cost of our own, and let’s let freedom ring true today and always!