Remembering Our Liberty on Flag Day

The Word of God tells us that we are to "show honor unto whom honor is due (Rom. 13:7)" This is true not only for people; but several times in the Bible, God commands that milestones be erected in order to remember His faithfulness. This happened, for instance, when Joshua led the children of Israel across the Jordan and the Ark of the Covenant passed through the waters on dry ground. Stones of remembrance were to be placed on the banks of the Jordan to remember. Jesus Christ commanded that the Old Testament sign of remembrance, the Passover, should continue but should do so with the truth that He is the Lamb of God who was given for our deliverance from sin and hell.

Clearly in the Bible, signs were important. Symbols are necessary to help us remember. The signs are powerful because they have a power that is capable of recalibrating our lives to the truth that set us free.

Thus it is with the flag of the United States of America. As the Revolutionary War was raging on June 14, 1777, the Continental Congress authorized this sacred symbol to represent the blood, courage and purity that was being put forth to establish this nation. So, 233 years later on this date, we remember our founders knew what we intuitively know: Symbols are outward signs of inward truths.

What is our sign? Our American flag. What is the inward truth of our flag? It is the unwavering commitment to liberty for all citizens at any cost. Indeed, under that sacred sign of our nation, our sons and daughters have given their lives. From Bunker Hill to Kandahar, Americans have fought, bled and died under our flag.

There is controversy in some areas about our flag. Some believe the freedoms offered by the inward truth of that outward symbol give them the right to desecrate her in the name of the liberty she signifies. Some seek to flaunt their freedom by raising another standard above her in our land and in the schools which should be inculcating a new generation to venerate the honorable cause that this American symbol embodies. This kind of dereliction is similar to one desecrating or disregarding the communion elements of the Christian church which signify our salvation from sin through Jesus Christ. If the word holy means anything, if it means "set apart for a sacred use" or for a "special place of reverence," then surely civic holiness demands that right-thinking Americans decry the usurping of our flag and protest the desecration of that sacred symbol of freedom. Patriotism demands honor to our flag by her citizens. Human decency demands it of others.

Let us who are the beneficiaries of more than two centuries of freedom thank Almighty God for the liberty signified by that red, white and blue; those 50 white stars set against the blue union of courage, representing our republic of 50 free states; those 13 stripes signifying and honoring our 13 colonies which first stood against tyranny and first rose to declare our inalienable rights and our independence as a new nation under God.