Celebrating Our Freedom
Café Menufor Monday, May 25, 2015
Today’s Special is:Celebrating our freedom
Carefully prepared just for you by your friend, Glenn
Main ingredient:
Now, most people would not be willing to die for an upright person, though someone might perhaps be willing to die for a person who is especially good.
Romans 5:7
Entrée:
Thinking of the freedom we enjoy in our country leads me to consider the parallels to the Cross. The end result of both is a gift I do not deserve and at a cost I find difficult to comprehend.
As a young man I remember the horrors of Vietnam being foremost in the daily news and infamous were the stories of those that fled the country to avoid serving. As I entered middle school, each year brought a little closer the reality that I might have a decision to make on what lay ahead of me.
Neither my grandfathers nor my father had served in their lifetimes for medical reasons so there was not a lot of military influence in my lineage. Add to that the debate raging over whether our troop’s efforts were even justified and my path was far from clear yet backing down on my responsibility to my country was not an option.
Almost unbelievably, the offensive in Vietnam ended in early 1973 and within a year of that the mandatory draft was halted. By the time I graduated high school in 1975 even registration with the government was no longer required.
In spite of or maybe because I have had no direct involvement in the physical defense of our country some of the strongest emotions I feel have come from considering my fortune of living in this great country.
Whether viewing sobering acres of white crosses commemorating our war dead or seeing a grown man crumpled at the base of a memorial as he grieves a fallen buddy, it is evident our freedom has come at a profound cost to countless human lives. I have yet to find the courage even to view any of the movies re-enacting D-Day or Vietnam and when I try to imagine receiving the casket of a son just 3 years older than mine is now, I find it is a thought my mind refuses to finish.
Not a day passes that I am not thankful for the precious freedoms we enjoy and for all those who won them or continue to defend them now. May I always experience that tightening of my throat when I see our unfurled flag proudly borne in an autumn parade and give thanks to God for the gift of living in the United States of America.
Likewise I am daily grateful for the sacrifice of One even greater than we can conceive in exchange for the worst this world could offer. Jesus overcame what we could not that we might be with Him eternally and until then living in grace not available through any other means.
Take Out:
When is the last time you listened to our National Anthem?
We would like to encourage you to take some time today and listen to the words of this beloved song, and as you do, give thanks to those who have fought and those who have paid the ultimate price so that we might freely live.
Dessert:
Father, thank you for the priceless opportunity of living in a nation of such heritage and legacy. Forgive me if for even a moment, I take for granted these freedoms which have cost so dearly those I will never be able to repay. Continue Father to shine upon this country that Your Name be proclaimed the great and mighty God you are. Through Your Son’s name we pray, Amen.
© 2015 by Glenn Edwards. All rights reserved.
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Originally published Monday, 25 May 2015.
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