Aspiration- a strong desire to achieve something great
Freedom is an aspiration that began in the heart and mind of our nation
before we were even birthed into being. Yet, an aspiration is just an idea, a
hope, a yearning, until someone chooses to take action. And that aspiration
can only be maintained with constant effort. Thomas Jefferson wrote, “The
price of freedom is eternal vigilance.â€
I remember celebrating the 4th of July on a Navy base… one base after
another… throughout my childhood. Those Navy celebrations included what
you would imagine- barbeques and parades,
family gatherings and community fairs. But
those celebrations also had a serious tone
because the celebrants all knew the price of
maintaining our freedom. My father, a career
Navy Chaplain, told me that the 4th of July is
really our “recommitment dayâ€- the day when we remember the price paid
for our freedom and the price we commit to pay for the freedom of others. I
would tell him that I had already paid my fair share with all the missed
holidays and birthdays when he was deployed. But my father said that the
price of freedom is a life-long willingness to work for the freedom of all.
For the last week and a half, we have all watched in horror as families
wait for news of loved ones after the collapse of the condo building in Surf
Side, FL. Twenty-four hours a day search and rescue teams have worked to
find those buried under the rubble. On Friday, one of the firefighters working
at the scene was informed that his 7-year-old daughter had been found dead
from her injuries in the collapse. Imagine that moment… the grief… the
helpless feeling of not being able to save his own daughter. The firefighter left
to gather with his family that night. But the next day he was back on site
looking diligently for the loved ones of other families. He understands what
commitment really means- the willingness to sacrifice for the sake of others.
Jesus reminded his disciples (we are among that gathering) of the
simple but profound teaching from God’s Word about commitmentLove the Lord your God
with all your heart and soul and mind and strength.
And love your neighbor as yourself.
Love God- love neighbor. Jesus taught in the parable of the sheep and the
goats- “Whatever you do for the least of these you do for me.†Jesus was calling us
to live out our love for God by our willingness to love our neighbor. Then
Jesus stretched all our sensibilities about who
our neighbor is… from the friend next door that
we enjoy and trust, to the grouchy neighbor who
lives down the street, to the person from a
different community and culture who looks
different and lives differently than we do, to the
enemy we fear. Jesus went on to command that
we “love our enemy and pray for those who persecute us.†Following Jesus calls us
to a life-long commitment to work for the sake of people we do not even
know, like that firefighter who went back to his search and rescue work the
day after losing his daughter.
John Adams once wrote:
“You will never know how much it has cost my generation to preserve YOUR freedom. I hope you will make a good use of it.â€
“You will never know how much it has cost my generation to preserve YOUR freedom. I hope you will make a good use of it.â€
That “good use†must go beyond waving flags at a parade and setting off fireworks
when the sun goes down. That “good use†must go beyond exercising our freedom to
say and do as we please. That “good use†must be for the good
of all God’s creation. We are blessed. May we be a blessing.
With you “recommitting†to God’s call,
Anita
Anita
Posted in From The Pastor
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