Love and Guard Freedom
What might it mean to love and guard our freedom? What does patriotism have to do with valuing freedom?
Do We Love Freedom?
In the United States of America do we love our freedom or take our liberties for granted? Some of us do embrace freedom. And I dare say many of us have become complacent, or even abusive with our freedoms.
To love freedom is to see it as a great gift. To defend freedom is much more than installing a security system on our homes or computers. We simply cannot lose sight of how this unique nation was birthed. In fact, it’s vital to know.
“Hold on, my friends, to the Constitution and to the Republic for which it stands. Miracles do not cluster, and what has happened once in 6,000 years, may not happen again. Hold on to the Constitution, because if the American Constitution should fail, there will be anarchy throughout the world.” -Daniel Webster
Teachable Moments
To guard freedom it’s necessary to understand why. What did it take to achieve freedom? Knowing our country’s history is very important. Today’s generation, and future generations, need to know the historic underpinnings of our republic. Parents are wise to take advantage of national holidys with teachable moments.
History: Long ago, our forefathers fought battle-after-battle in order to create a country where freedom could be exercised. July 4, 1776, reminds us that freedom from England had been achieved and the United States of America was given birth. Those same forefathers knew protecting and preserving liberty was a must. Thus The Declaration of Independence and The Constitution of the United States of America were penned. Because these brave men gave careful thought to the wording of our governing documents, 247 years later, we remain a free country.
Take a fresh look:
Read them aloud. The Declaration of Independence says: We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.
The Constitution’s wording is similar: We the people of the United States, in Order to form a more perfect Union, establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defense, promote general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America.
Preserve and Protect
These documents include Articles of governance written with one supreme purpose—to preserve and protect our freedom. When we grab hold of the one line which gives Creator God the credit for being the Giver of all life, all liberty, and all ability to pursue happiness, our minds move beyond what mere man has done. To leave God out is to omit our source of true freedom. You, my brothers and sisters, were called to be free. But do not use your freedom to indulge the flesh; rather, serve one another humbly in love. Galatians 5:13
Willingly Guard Our Liberties
Those who enlist in military service to their country pledge loyalty to an officer of greater rank in order to guard our liberties. Whose voice do we follow? Are we soldiers defending the freedom God has bestowed upon us as “One nation under God,” or are we negligent in caretaking the gift of liberty?
“A sacred respect for the constitutional law is the vital principle, the sustaining energy of a free government.” ―Thomas Jefferson
