Great Liberty Demands a Great Price

Having grown up with so many privileges in this great country, I often fail to see what others don't have because I carry the incorrect thought that everyone has the same blessings that I have.  I truly know that this is not the case.  I along with so many others fail to acknowledge, honor, and give thanks for those who have gone on before us and have walked with a firm conviction that our freedom was worth sacrificing and dying for.  It has been 241 years since our country was founded and today, despite our weaknesses, we still remain the most  influential country in the world.  Their fighting, tears, and deaths were not in vain.  Though some would disagree, God was placed at the center of most of life during those founding years.  I personally feel that many blessings that we have reaped today have been a direct result of our nation's faithfulness to God.  The tide has been shifting for many years as our country has dethroned God from the courtroom down to the classroom.  Shamefully, many churches even strive to be politically correct and they dethrone God from the one place where God and Truth should never be questioned or removed--His church!

Spiritually, due to the sacrifice and death of Christ, we have been set free from the bondage and slavery of sin.  Our spiritual freedom demanded a horrific sacrifice--the death of the Son of God on our behalf.  Once again, this blessing is taken for granted by many of us as we have gotten used to that freedom.  Since we are so far removed from the initial sacrifice we often forget what was necessary for our freedom.  As Christians, we should wave the banner of Christ high in the sky and recognize that we have every reason to be spiritually patriotic towards Christ.  We certainly have no reason to hide the fact that we are citizens of Heaven purchased by the precious blood of Jesus Christ.  We are blessed with American citizenship and a Heavenly citizenship all at the same time.  Both come as blessings from God and both should be prized and valued.

Don't be ashamed to say to whom you belong.  Our identity is found first and foremost in Jesus Christ.  I would also like to suggest that Christians should be the most appreciative and patriotic citizens of all--knowing that it is God alone who is the giver of all blessings and freedom.

Colossians 1:13-14, "For He rescued us from the domain of darkness, and transferred us to the kingdom of His beloved Son, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins." ~~Praise God!