there is a symbol at the center of the idea of our freedom as citizens of the U.S., it is the statue of liberty. it was given to the United States by France in 1885. one of the unique things about the statue is she is holding a tablet containing the text "JULY IV MDCCLXXVI" (July 4, 1776), it commemorates the date of the United States Declaration of Independence, the date the U.S. declared its freedom. in the declaration, we were communicating, once and for all, our freedom and our independence from the Kingdom of Great Brittan.
could you imagine the U.S. calling up the brits and asking them to take us back? that would be wierd. what would be the point? if we did, would we have to give back the statue? nevermind whether the French would actually want it back. if we called up the brits and told them we wanted to be ruled again, utterly dominated, mostly because we all want their accents, i am positive we would have to give back the statue, because the statue is the symbol of the freedom we have and the freedom we as a country give. we would have to give it back.
so what about the cross? do we have to give it back?
there is no doubt as U.S. citizens we take for granted and take advantage of the freedom we have. it is interesting to learn that many europeans now despise us as america because we seem so conservative, but the radical muslim world hates us because we are so liberal and immoral. either way, we treat the freedom we have as citizens of america as less than we should. in the same way, we neglect the freedom we have as citizens of the Kingdom of God.
more than 2 and 1/4 centuries ago we gained our independence from the Kingdom of Great Brittan. how long has it been since you gained your independence from the Kingdom of this World, and became a citizen of the Kingdom of God. and do you take your freedom seriously.
so many times i have gone back. i have forgotten my freedom, or worse, used my freedom to revolt. check this out:
It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery-Galatians 5:1
if the Kingdom of God were the same as the kingdom of this world, all of us would have been hung for treason by this day in our lives, and we would have had to give the cross back; but this is one thing that can never be taken from us.
glenn packiam told a story about immigrants in the early years of our country. he talked about how people would come to this country and when the officials would ask them their native language, they would reach back and get a piece of scripture in their same tongue and hand it to them saying, "no one can ever take this away from you."
the cross is something no one can ever take away from you, not even you. the cross is a gift given permanently by the only true giver. let us, with every breath we have, cling to the cross and never, in our hearts or actions, try to give it back.
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