Disclaimer: I have tried to be respectful and careful of what is said in this post while remembering where I currently am... please be careful with any comments that you post in response for safety and security reasons! <><
I have been pondering this post for quite some time in light of all that has been going on on the other side of the big blue pond. Thought today would be an excellent time to post my thoughts as today we celebrate our nation's freedom.
Freedom is not free... it cost someone something!
First and foremost... I am an American... home of the free... land of the brave. Many men and women have shed precious blood throughout the past 240 years to produce and maintain these freedoms.
Just to list a few... FREEDOM OF SPEECH (verbal or written). .. FREEDOM TO VOTE...FREEDOM TO PURSUE LIFE, LIBERTY, AND HAPPINESS... FREEDOM TO BEAR ARMS... FREEDOM TO WORSHIP... I may be living overseas but this has only grown my appreciation for the freedoms in my home country.
All of the above mentioned and what I am about to do is not possible or legal in the country I currently reside in! As Americans we need to wake up to the fact that we are being complacent and willingly letting our rights slip out of our fingers. At what point in our history did we become little lap dogs doing what ever people in "authority" told us to do?
As Americans we have the right to speak our minds and put like minded people in office... we have the right to defend ourselves in times of need and not be like sheep being led to slaughter... we have the right to use the brains that our creator put in us to think about given situations and say... wait a minute! You have no right to do that! Yet how many times do we willing give up our rights because someone above us says we should. (Ie... America should ban guns because guns kill people. It is NOT a gun issue... it is a heart issue! )
Question... have you ever lived in a country where guns are illegal? Ever watch someone get stoned to death with rocks... do we need to ban rocks? Ever watch someone get stabbed to death with a knife... do we need to ban knives? Believe you me... it is not a pretty picture. Each situation screams of the depravity of man and the further our nation gets from the principles it was founded on the deeper into the pits of hell we shall go until nothing more is left.
Ok... soapbox time... Our maker , whether you acknowledge Him or not, put certain things in place to protect us and keep us safe as we live with others. We are called to LOVE and sadly the American "believers" are worlds worst at this. This LOVE is not one of acceptance and tolerance but one that says I love you because of who you are... not what you do. This LOVE is not based on conditions... do this and I will love you. It is based on the very character of the one we are to image!
What would happen if we truly LOVED each other with patience... not bashing each other over the head because of our sins but encouraging one another to do what is right based on the maker's principles?
What would happen if we truly LOVED each other with kindness... slow to point the finger at other people's shortcomings but quick to work on our own?
What would happen if we truly LOVED each other with forgiveness... not putting past mistakes on current people but trusting in the present?
Get my drift... we are all a fallen people in need of a savior. None of us are perfect or can do it on our own... it has already been done. The maker of the universe sent his Son... who was perfect to stand in the gap for us so that when the maker looks at us... he doesn't see our sin but the perfection of his son. All we are called to do is believe. This gift wasn't free... it cost the maker's Son his life but ultimately .... the Son conquered death and the grave to make a way for the created to get to the Creator.
Our freedom is not free! Be thankful for those that have given up their lives so that you can be free!
