As with most of our national holidays, we sometimes forget the meaning behind the Fourth of July.
Lost deep within the barbecues, the fireworks, the picnics, the red, white, and blue food and clothes, the sparklers, and the parades, we find the meaning of the holiday--the celebration of freedom.
But why July 4th? Why not September 3, 1783, the day that the English and Americans met for peace negotiations in Paris, signed the Peace of Paris, and--other than a few skirmishes between people who hadn't heard the news--ended the war?
Truthfully, July 4, 1776 was not free. America was just beginning a long, bloody war to claim independence. It also marked the day that some of our forefathers faced some real anxiety for the future. By signing their names to the Declaration of Independence, they knew that if the fledgling nation didn't win her independence, they would surely die for their leadership roles in the Revolution.
Yet they believed so strongly in the necessity of freedom, that they signed--literally--their lives away.
On the Fourth of July we celebrate their bravery and our freedom.
But as citizens of another, higher realm, Christians can celebrate the inner freedom that was also bought with a price--the laying down of one perfect life for the lives of those who believe.
That's real freedom.
Happy Independence Day!