HAPPY BIRTHDAY AMERICA!
The Fourth of July is our Independence Day, it is the day of the birth of America. It is the day we celebrate the freedom and liberty our founding fathers fought to provide, not only for their lives and families, but for all their descendants that would follow. It continues today to be the reason thousands and thousands of people from all over the world long for and choose to immigrate to the United States.
Freedom is powerful.
In the Declaration of Independence it 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.–That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed, …”
…
“We, therefore, the Representatives of the united States of America, in General Congress, Assembled, appealing to the Supreme Judge of the world for the rectitude of our intentions, do, in the Name, and by Authority of the good People of these Colonies, solemnly publish and declare, That these United Colonies are, and of Right ought to be Free and Independent States; that they are Absolved from all Allegiance to the British Crown, and that all political connection between them and the State of Great Britain, is and ought to be totally dissolved; and that as Free and Independent States, they have full Power to levy War, conclude Peace, contract Alliances, establish Commerce, and to do all other Acts and Things which Independent States may of right do. And for the support of this Declaration, with a firm reliance on the protection of divine Providence, we mutually pledge to each other our Lives, our Fortunes and our sacred Honor.”
archives.gov
The Constitution of the United States begins with these words.
“We the People of the United States, in Order to form a more perfect Union, establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defence, promote the 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.”
https://www.archives.gov/founding-docs/constitution-transcript
Therefore, FREEDOM is sacred, and freedom must be maintained. There are many enemies of freedom that desire to take advantage and control the liberties provided to people. Schemers who wish to take away our liberties and freedoms will do so with sly tactics. They will say that it is in the name of or for the sake of security, or that the needs of whole outweigh the needs of the few. Therefore they will enact laws to control the people but give them that rule greater power over the people. In the end, it is the people who suffer while the few who rule prosper. It has always been so under such tyranny and despotism, and history has proven this from the beginning of time.
Freedom as defined in Webster’s dictionary 1828 is:
FREE’DOM, noun
1. A state of exemption from the power or control of another; liberty; exemption from slavery, servitude or confinement. freedom is personal, civil, political, and religious.
Liberty is defined as:
LIB’ERTY, noun [Latin libertas, from liber, free.]
1. Freedom from restraint, in a general sense, and applicable to the body, or to the will or mind. The body is at liberty when not confined; the will or mind is at liberty when not checked or controlled. A man enjoys liberty when no physical force operates to restrain his actions or volitions.
http://webstersdictionary1828.com/Dictionary/Liberty
No rational person would say they want to be bound and restrained by another person. Freedom and Liberty are sacred values for all humanity.
Many have fought, died, and suffered greatly in order to maintain liberty and justice for all. It is true, that mankind is imperfect, that mankind has throughout history, done intolerable wrongs against one another. This is the reason for the right to be free of all such oppression, to live and enjoy liberty among all people of the world.
Today, take a moment to consider the freedom and liberty you have. Consider that it is precious and sacred. It must be guarded and maintained. Consider also that there are many who do not have such liberty, who are oppressed and subjected to a life of misery and hopelessness under tyrannical rulers.
In the Bible in Matthew 22:36-40, Jesus Christ was asked the following question with this answer,
“Teacher, which is the great commandment in the law?” Jesus said to him, ‘YOU SHALL LOVE THE LORD YOUR GOD WITH ALL YOUR HEART, WITH ALL YOUR SOUL, AND WITH ALL YOUR MIND.’ This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like it: ‘YOU SHALL LOVE YOUR NEIGHBOR AS YOURSELF.’ On these two commandments hang all the Law and the Prophets.”
In order to have true liberty, one must first have love, perfect love, and perfect love casts out fear. And this perfect love comes only from having a personal relationship with the perfect Creator, God, who loves the whole world so much. He alone can change the heart of man and give him a new heart and life from which a person can truly love one’s neighbor as them self. The first commandment is important so that the second commandment can be carried out.
The Bible also teaches in Romans 13:8-10:
“Owe no one anything except to love one another, for he who loves another has fulfilled the law. For the commandments, “YOU SHALL NOT COMMIT ADULTERY,” “YOU SHALL NOT MURDER,” “YOU SHALL NOT STEAL,” “YOU SHALL NOT BEAR FALSE WITNESS,” “YOU SHALL NOT COVET,” and if there is any other commandment, are all summed up in this saying, namely, “YOU SHALL LOVE YOUR NEIGHBOR AS YOURSELF.” Love does no harm to a neighbor; therefore love is the fulfillment of the law.”
In closing,
It is perfect love that produces this kind of true and lasting freedom and liberty that people so deeply desire to experience and enjoy. America was founded believers in Jesus Christ, and our constitution by a great number of those who believed strongly in God and in Jesus Christ His Son. They had a very strong faith in the Word of God, the Bible. The founding fathers have attested to this by all the various documents that we have today including the United States Constitution. In addition, we can easily see and recognize the many displays of Scripture all around our capital and nation.
Proverbs 14:34 Righteousness exalts a nation, But sin is a reproach to any people.
The Holy Bible
“The Bible must be considered as the great source of all the truth by which men are to be guided in government as well as in all social transactions.”
– Noah Webster
How important is liberty to you? It encompasses a wide-range of areas for mankind. It is vital that we know our history, the good and the bad, so that we may understand and learn to maintain this wonderful liberty, or to make changes when necessary to improve the quality of life, liberty, and justice for all. Then we must do our utmost to guard and protect this liberty from all that would steal, kill, and destroy it.
To this end, our founding fathers declared:
“We, therefore, the Representatives of the united States of America, in General Congress, Assembled, appealing to the Supreme Judge of the world for the rectitude of our intentions, do, in the Name, and by Authority of the good People of these Colonies, solemnly publish and declare, That these United Colonies are, and of Right ought to be Free and Independent States; that they are Absolved from all Allegiance to the British Crown, and that all political connection between them and the State of Great Britain, is and ought to be totally dissolved; and that as Free and Independent States, they have full Power to levy War, conclude Peace, contract Alliances, establish Commerce, and to do all other Acts and Things which Independent States may of right do. And for the support of this Declaration, with a firm reliance on the protection of divine Providence, we mutually pledge to each other our Lives, our Fortunes and our sacred Honor.”
The Fourth of July is America’s birth of Liberty! America stands as a bright shining city on a hill, inviting all to come into its arms, YET according to its legal and established laws and standards. Any person who does not honor and respect this, but strives to enter by some other way with evil intentions, cannot expect to have the freedom to live in this nation. IF they do not first choose to live and aspire to respect and follow those laws and rights and standards by which this nations’s liberty was founded upon and the many lives that were given to ensure this liberty, then they have a complete disrespect of its people and its laws, and THIS type of person is not welcome.
This is why LOVE is the key, and it is the best way that true liberty can flow and bless and prosper the people. May we seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added unto us! Matthew 6:33
We celebrate and bless you America, and exhort you to follow after God and Jesus Christ His Son, for this is the way of true liberty and peace!