Reflecting on this July 4th, I’m reminded of how much I have to be grateful for. Many will greet one another with a “Happy 4th of July”, will display flags, have BBQ’s, picnics, attend parties & of course watch the magnificent displays of fire works. I wonder though, just how many will actually comprehend the history & price paid for the liberties we enjoy so much? It seems we live in a land of paradoxes. We are all the beneficiaries of the foundations laid, through many a price paid & sacrifices made, by which we enjoy the Liberties & Freedoms in our nation. Yet, many forget the roots of those foundations. We are witnessing the inclination to casually disregard what previous generations have held to be of fundamental importance. On the one hand, many want the benefits of what the founding fathers forged out and gave themselves for…when it suits them, while also undermining the very heart that motivated and empowered it’s effectiveness.

Let us not only greet one another with a “Happy 4th” or “Independence Day”, but may we have a deep gratitude & appreciation for those who sacrificed for us to have them. May we also be keenly aware of just how volatile our liberties & freedoms are. They must not be taken for granted, but stewarded with respect & a sense of responsibility…lest we find ourselves losing the very things we have so cherished.

I find the words of Paul, an apostle in Galatians 5:1 fitting for us today. “Stand fast therefore in the Liberty by which Christ has made us free, and do not be entangled again with a yoke of bondage.”