I got to be in a boat parade on the 4th of July! It was so much fun. Boats from all over the lake decorated their watercraft and themselves in all manner of patriotic garb and were led all around the lake by the boat and personnel from the Department of Natural Resources. Onlookers waved, played music, and even launched water balloons at us. A Fire and Rescue boat created a water arc with its water cannon for us to ride under, which was welcome because, even in a moving boat, it was pretty toasty. At the end of the parade, someone was firing an actual cannon as the boats crossed the “finish line”.
This year, America celebrates the 250th anniversary (the semiquincentennial) of being a nation. On July 4, 1776, representatives from the 13 American colonies officially declared independence from Great Britain. The date is recognized as the founding of our freedom or “birth of the United States of America”.
We celebrate this anniversary in various ways: parades (land and water 😉), national and local ceremonies, fireworks, concerts/patriotic music, historical reenactments, educational programs, and commemorative memorabilia.
A centerpiece of each celebration is attention and allegiance to the symbol of our freedom, our country’s flag. The flag has 50 white stars on a field of blue in the upper left corner. The stars represent each individual state, united as one nation. The rest of the flag has 13 horizontal stripes alternating the colors red and white. The stripes represent the number of colonies from which our nation had its origin. The colors don’t have official meanings but are normally affiliated with the Great Seal of the United States, with red representing courage and sacrifice, white, purity, and blue, vigilance and justice. The US Flag has the nicknames: The Stars and Stripes, and Old Glory.
Many brave men and women, beginning with the American Revolutionary War, have fought for the freedom outlined in the Declaration of Independence, and the Constitution, including the Bill of Rights. These people and their loved ones serve/served selflessly, and some have given all.
While we typically tend to live and die for independence, Jesus, the One who made us, the stars, and took our stripes, lived and died for our eternal freedom.
The apostle Paul makes a good point: “Very rarely will anyone die for a righteous person, though for a good person someone might possibly dare to die.” He goes on to say, “But God demonstrates His own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” (Romans 5:6-8) Steven Curtis Chapman sings a song he wrote many years ago which turns the tables and declares his Declaration of DEPENDENCE on Jesus. He sings, “I’m nothing on my own; it is by God’s grace alone that I can make this confession. All that I am and all I’m hoping to be is all and only what He’s given to me…I was made for this dependency on the One who has created me. So, I’ll sing my declaration song for the One I am depending on…this is my declaration of my need…on the One who gave His life to me.”
The freedom Jesus offers releases us from the consequences of our sin: punishment and eternal separation from Him.
In the United States, we operate under the premise that we are free from oppression, inequality, persecution for worship choices, and government tyranny. While the ideal set forth is noble, it is run by imperfect humans, so it is going to operate imperfectly.
However, the freedom we enjoy through Jesus’s Creation of us and His sacrifice for us is PERFECT. We take hold of this freedom the minute we accept Him as the Savior of our soul and the Lord of our life. Our relationship with Jesus gives purpose to our day-to-day and reminds us how much He values us. “If [Jesus] sets you free, you will be free indeed.” (John 8:36)
