During this month, when we celebrate our nation's freedom and independence, it is often easy for us to forget the high price that was given for that freedom. I have visited the National Archives in Washington, D.C. several times and have seen the faded copy of the Declaration of Independence. Thousands of dollars have been spent to preserve that precious document and the signatures of those who were willing to risk their lives by signing at the bottom. When they signed, there was no guarantee that the colonial army would succeed. But those men valued freedom so much that they were willing to put everything on the line for future generations.
As Christians we have something far more powerful than a faded document to remind us of the importance of freedom. All we have to do is to turn our attention to a cross on Calvary, to think of the crown of thorns upon the head of Jesus and to hear the cry of agony, "My God, my God, why have You forsaken me?" How great was the price for our freedom from sin!
Pastor Dan