Optimist Roundtable
By Martha Sykes
In a few days we will celebrate Independence Day and in the midst of celebrating with picnics and fireworks, I hope that we can stop and appreciate the freedom we have in this country that we are so fortunate to live in. In America, we are people whose very existence relates to our sacred documents like the Declaration of Independence, the Constitution, and the Bill of Rights. As Christians, we relate to another sacred document, the Holy Bible. Every principle that we hold dear to our hearts was written in God’s Word.On the Statue of Liberty are the words that remind us where we came from and in the Bible it tells us what we stand for as we live our lives.
We are reminded in all of these documents of how this land is ours today because of the men and women who have sacrificed so much for our freedom.This is something that we certainly can’t take for granted and is something that we need to be grateful for every day. Many people gave their lives that we might be free in our nation, just as many people gave their lives that we might have our Christian faith. Our greatest freedom is the best gift that we can find through Jesus Christ who gave it all for us so that we can be free.
Just as I wrote last week about how Jesus tells us to come to him with our burdens, the words on the Statue of Liberty are just as important;”Give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses yearning to breathe free.The wretched refuse of your teeming shore. Send these, the homeless, the tempest-tossed to me, I lift my lamp beside the golden door.”
Our country is still a nation of people who continue to serve and sacrifice to keep our freedom alive, just as many Christians are persecuted every day for their faith so that we can worship freely. In the days of Jesus, oxen were linked together by means of a wooden yoke across their necks that helped to evenly distribute the weight of a load so that both oxen carried it. Together they were able to pull far greater a load than the other one could pull by itself.When we are yoked to Christ we are better able to stand up for the things we believe. When we are yoked to Christ, we are better able to repay the sacrifices made in our behalf. So as we reflect on the meaning of this Fourth of July, we can thank God for His Son and also thank those who have been so dedicated to make it possible for us to worship freely on this day.
