“Years ago, a group of good, wise, brave, God-fearing men stood up to claim and defend the human right for independence. Those men are now dead. Their work is not. If good, wise, brave, God-fearing men fail to stand up in their stead, that independence will cease to exist.” ~ Richelle E. Goodrich
There are many things in life that we take for granted. The danger in that, however, is that people will not struggle or fight to preserve the things they take for granted. They may whine and moan about the lack of whatever it is they so desired; but, after a while, they move on to something else.
We cherish our freedom, our independence. That freedom is not guaranteed, though. It comes at a cost. We have to struggle to maintain that freedom. We have to sacrifice and, at times, lay our lives on the line in order to preserve that freedom not only for ourselves but for all of those who will come after us. That is at the heart of what Richelle Goodrich wrote above.
Our country will celebrate its independence this week. As we do so, we are mindful of those who have laid down their lives so that we might live in freedom. We could never thank them enough. We are also mindful of those who have served to protect our freedom, our veterans. We thank them for their honorable service. Additionally, we are mindful of those who are presently in the Armed Forces. We pray that God protects them and brings them back home to us safely.
While we celebrate our independence, it would behoove us to remember someone else who laid down His life so that we could be free: Jesus Christ. He won a freedom for us that we cherish dearly. We have to fight to keep that freedom. We fight the forces of darkness and sin each day, each moment, of our lives.
“Fighting the good fight” will help us to preserve the freedom that Jesus won for us in His victory over sin and death. If we fail to fight, we could easily lose that which we cherish so deeply.
Fight the good fight today as you cherish our independence. Help to preserve and maintain it for generations to come.
FAITH ACTION: Pray for those who live without freedom that they may soon come to know the same rights and privileges that we so often take for granted.