Memorial Day is upon us and it got me thinking... What a blessing it is to have freedom! It's amazing to think of the tremendous sacrifice of our founding fathers. There was so much at risk when those men made the decision to fight for our independence. If we had lost the war, they would have been guilty of high treason and most likely would have lost their lives. Of course, many of them lost their lives and families anyway.
How much do you have to believe in something and long for something; to be willing to give up your loved ones, your home, your livelihood... everything for your cause. Freedom of religion is a strong motivation. It's such a wonderful thing for people to have the choice to worship according to their convictions, or not at all. The reason I say this, is because I believe God gave us choice for a reason. He wants us to CHOOSE to serve Him, not to be forced.
Would you rather your child love you out of duty, or because they want to? I believe that's how God feels about us. Even though He is desperate to be in fellowship with every one of us, He wants us to make the decision to have a relationship with Him. When I was young, my mom always used to tell me, "Jesus is a gentleman. He will not on the door of your heart and wait for an answer, not just barge in."
The men who brought their families to this "new world" were in search of freedom from religious persecution. They were passionate about their beliefs. Those men were probably the great-great-grandparents of our founding fathers who fought for our independence as a nation. Imagine the heritage they passed down to them! No matter what our public school textbooks say nowadays, our nation WAS founded on Christian principles rooted in the word of God. I found these quotes recently and thought I'd pass them along:
"It is impossible to rightly govern the world without God and the Bible." -George Washington
"The Bible must be considered as the great source of all the truth by which men are to be guided in government as well as in all social transactions." -Noah Webster, Founding Educator
"We have staked the whole future of American civilization, not upon the power of government, far from it. We have staked the future of all our political institutions upon the capacity of each and of all of us to govern ourselves, to control ourselves, to sustain ourselves according to the Ten Commandments of God." -James Madison, Father of the United States Constitution
"It cannot be emphasized too strongly or too often that this great nation was founded... not on religions, but on the gospel of Jesus Christ." -Patrick Henry, Founding Father, Orator