Stop for just a moment. According to our national anthem, we live in the land of the free and the home of the brave. But from where does our freedom come?
We could take multiple paths in answering that question, but stick with the train of thought here! First, consider the original intent of the founding of America. Explorers did not simply stumble upon a new land, jump off the boat and begin to build a nation. No…there was a plan!
Can you name the very first governing document of our great land? It was the Mayflower Compact, drafted by men such as William Bradford and Myles Standish who set out on a voyage for a very specific purpose, recorded in that compact. Their purpose, in their words:
Having undertaken for the Glory of God, and Advancement of the Christian Faith, and the Honour of our King and Country, a Voyage to plant the first Colony in the northern Parts of Virginia…
~The Mayflower Compact (1620)
Did you catch it? They sailed to the new land for the glory of God and to advance the Christian faith! They left Europe in search of freedom from tyrannical, government-imposed religion! Government had become exceedingly over-reaching and controlling, so those pilgrims were yearning, to the point of risking their lives, for freedom!
Interestingly, Isaiah 61 tells us that the Spirit of the Living God was upon Jesus, and anointed Him to proclaim liberty to the captives! Liberty…sweet liberty! I believe those pilgrims knew and rejoiced in that. Jesus is all about freedom, and our true freedom is found in Him.
A century and a half after The Mayflower Compact laid the foundation of freedom, those who forged American independence framed the same idea within the preamble of the Declaration of Independence:
We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.
~US Declaration of Independence
Now, notice this! Who endowed us with unalienable Rights such as Life, Liberty (freedom!) and the pursuit of Happiness? Our Creator! That means our rights and freedoms come, not from the government, but from our Creator! The government, in fact, often works to decrease or remove those rights and freedoms!
That’s what we see today! Every time our government “mandates” certain things, they endeavor to take away our God-given freedom! We should be outraged, and as believers in Jesus Christ, we should not stand for such efforts! I am neither a “vaxxer” nor an “anti-vaxxer,” but I am very much anti-mandate when it comes to efforts to strip us of God-given freedom.
This young firefighter nails it! I hope we (believers) will stand stronger still on the truths and principles of God’s Word, and will fight against every effort to take away our freedoms!
Looking for the Blessed Hope 