We enjoy a celebration of freedom today because our founding fathers fought, sacrificed, and died for it. But what did that mean to them? What were they really fighting for? What did freedom bring them?
They were free to govern themselves. They were free to defend their homes and their land. They were free to worship God as they chose. They were free to choose how they would live their lives and where. They were free from tyranny and oppression.
Do you notice a common phrase? Sure you do! The phrase is, “They were free to…” There was a reason and a purpose for the freedom they fought for.
The men and women that sacrificed, suffered, and died for our country’s freedom did it for what it would bring and what it meant! Freedom was a means to a noble cause and a greater end!
That is still true today. Freedom was not won so that you and I could indulge ourselves, demand our rights, and expect someone else to give us everything we want. That’s not freedom, is it?
That’s the way some would want to define freedom today. But the truth is that it’s not freedom from authority, expectations, and responsibilities, but rather a freedom that was won so we might be free to serve a higher cause – to obtain a greater end – and to serve a more noble purpose.
In our American history, many of the men and women who fought and sacrificed in the battle for freedom were never able to experience or enjoy what they were fighting for. Then why did they do it? They did it to establish a home and a land where freedom could ring!
They did it for their children and their grandchildren. They did it for you and me. They suffered and sacrificed to serve future generations!
Even as we celebrate our independence this month, let’s commit to sacrifice and fight to preserve independence for the generations to come!
“It is easy to take liberty for granted, when you have never had it taken from you.” ~Author unknown
Valley Community Church is located at 25222 Wiley Canyon Road in Newhall. For more information, please call 661-259-4366 and visit www.valleycommunitychurch.com or Facebook.