Freedom

July 4, 2020

Many a year we spent the Fourth of July on vacation in Canada. McMillan’s cottages were host to mostly Americans who came for the quiet, the relaxation, the fishing, and the excellent food and fellowship. Some of those who came had been coming yearly for decades, and each year it was like a family reunion with people from all across the eastern part of the US. 

July 1 is Canada Day, and at suppertime the kitchen staff and servers would file into the dining room, hand out lyrics, and lead us in the singing of “O Canada!” At dusk, we would drive to nearby Killaloe, a tiny village about ten miles west of the campground, where we gathered at the local schoolyard to watch fireworks. I wonder if they had them this year. The border is closed to tourists, so we didn’t get to go.

On the Fourth, the staff again paraded into the dining hall to lead us in the “Star Spangled Benner.” The only fireworks were whatever Americans had brought with them, but there never seemed to be a shortage. I miss all that tonight. Locally, most of the firework displays have been cancelled; sad sign of the times where COVID has isolated us, and race divided us. I never imagined I would see the day when there would be calls from a major political party advocating the destruction of the Mount Rushmore monument, but it’s been happening. 

Tomorrow, I’m preaching again, from Galatians 5:1—“For freedom, Christ has set us free.” Freedom is a fragile thing, and must be carried in the heart before it can be delivered to a nation. If we allow it to grow dim within us, it is not long before it weakens in society. Jesus Christ set us free from sin so we would have the blessing of living free of guilt and shame, but if  we fail to shake off the shackles he has unlocked, we become easy prey for anyone who would enslave us again. I am grateful tonight that Christ set me free, and keep daily watch lest I slip back into bondage. I am sad that there is so little celebration tonight, but am thankful to be among those whom Christ has set free.