We live in the greatest country the world has ever seen, and
that is largely because from Day 1 men and women have been willing to lay down
their lives in sacrifice for the good of the people around them.
In 1607 a group of Puritans arrived in Virginia seeking a
place where they could worship God and be free from liberal influences. These
people had previously been persecuted by the state-run church in England, then
Holland when their children began to emulate the secular Dutch culture. Leaving
everything behind, they came to America looking for a place of religious refuge.
Many died during that first winter, but rather than return to England, they
stayed because they knew it would ultimately be better for their children.
On April 19, 1775, shots were fired at Lexington and
Concord, and the American Revolutionary War was under way. Once again, many
brave men were willing to die so that others could live in freedom. On July 4th
of the next year, the Declaration of Independence was signed, guaranteeing that
freedom for all Americans.
That same spirit of bravery would be summoned over and over
again in America’s history, and brave men and women would go around the globe
to offer freedom to those who sought it. Americans fought off Nazis in Germany,
Communists in Korea and Vietnam, and Terrorists in the Middle East.
Brave Americans stormed Normandy on D Day, battled back the
Viet Cong, and collapsed the Soviet Union; they didn’t flinch when Castro’s
Cuba threatened with missiles, or when Saddam Hussein’s Baath Party invaded
Kuwait.
The bravery and sacrifice of American men and women has been
displayed most recently on 9/11, when undrafted citizens enlisted to track down
and kill Osama bin Laden. That sacrifice was seen at Ground Zero when
firefighters and rescue workers ran into burning buildings at their own peril
because they knew there more people inside. Each time they entered those Twin
Towers they knew they might not come out.; finally, the World Trade Center
buildings collapsed with many civilian and emergency workers still inside. 411
brave Americans made the ultimate sacrifice that day—340 firefighters, 23 NYPD
officers, 37 Port Authority officers, 2 paramedics, and a chaplain.
The brave Americans aboard United Airlines Flight 93 also
made a sacrifice. When their plane was hijacked, unarmed passengers used ink
pens and coffee pots to take down box cutter-wielding terrorists, then crashed
their own plane in a field in Shanksville, Pennsylvania so that it could not be
used as a missile to the White House.
That was the first 9/11. The second 9/11 happened two years
ago in Benghazi when terrorists stormed a U.S. Consulate, killing Ambassador
Chris Stevens and three other Americans. The damage would have been worse, but
brave Americans violated a stand down order and went to the consulate, saving
several lives.
America is the greatest country in the history of the world
because of the sacrifice of brave men and women who are willing to give all for
other people. Brave people who live out “service before self,” who
understand the concept of a greater of good, who live life with something
bigger in mind.
The Bible says that no one has greater love than the one
willing to lay down his life for someone else. Those words were spoken by Jesus
Christ.
By far, the greatest sacrifice that was ever made was not on
a battlefield or a crime scene; it was on a hill called Calvary. The sacrifice
was not made by a soldier or paramedic, but by the very Son of God.
Jesus told His disciples that His love for them was what
compelled Him to make that sacrifice. The Bible teaches that we are all
sinners, separated from a holy God. The only way any human could ever have a
relationship with God would be if one who never sinned took their place. Only
Jesus could do that.
His death on the cross served as the perfect ransom; God
allows our sins to be forgiven because He punished our sin by punishing Jesus.
All who trust in that sacrifice and repent to God can be forgiven.
Many soldiers made sacrifices for their countrymen,
especially the ones who served in the jungles of Vietnam and the deserts of
Iraq. When they returned home they discovered that the media was against them.
College students staged riots on campuses, Hollywood actors supported the
enemy, protestors camped outside the White House, and aspiring politicians
seized the opportunity to decry the same war many of them voted for. I can’t
imagine what those soldiers must feel returning home to a country that seems
opposed to their sacrifice.
Freedom is only as good as what we do with it. We can choose
to hate the heroes and live as if we are under a dictatorship. We have the
freedom to make that choice. It’s a foolish choice, but many choose it.
In the same way, Jesus sacrificed His life to die the most
gruesome death in human history, and He is the most mocked figure on TV and
comic strips. The freedom He offers is only as good as what we do with it. Will
we accept it, and live for Him, or reject it, and live apart from Him?
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