America is at war. As of yesterday, 05-24-14, the number of men and women of the American Armed Forces who have given their lives in Iraq and Afghanistan was 6,805. It is highly possible that before anyone reads this post another father or mother will be notified that their daughter or son will not be coming home. Another young wife or husband may get the news that his or her spouse paid the ultimate price. A little boy may learn that his daddy will never coach him in Little League again. Some little girl may come to the realization that when she gets ready to go to her high school prom, her mother will not be helping her pick out her dress or help her put on her makeup.
Yes, America is at war. However, that should not be a surprise to any of us. Truthfully, there has never been a time when either a great number or a small group of Americans were not engaged in a combative posture with an enemy of this nation we call The Land of the Free and Home of the Brave. There is no glamour in war no matter the size, no matter the cause. Nonetheless, it is my opinion that war does become necessary in the human experience. War is necessary to maintain the kind of freedom such a nation as ours has enjoyed from the time of its birth. Freedom is a very costly commodity.
Therefore, I believe it to be proper and right to take a day and remember those who have given their lives to keep America free-to protect our way of life. I thank God for every man or woman who went into harm’s way and gave their lives. I thank God for those of the Army, Navy, Air Force, Coast Guard, and Marine Corp who have paid the highest price for freedom. And yes, I thank God for every American Operative, Contractor, and Mercenary who fought and died in places snakes and dogs won’t crawl that will never be reported or have their names written on a wall or monument to protect the interest of this country and the freedom if its citizens in foreign lands.
I am an American and I am not ashamed to be one. I will never back down from flying Old Glory, pledging allegiance, or singing God Bless America in church on Sunday morning in honor of our sons and daughters who gave their all for this country. By the providence of Holy God I am blessed to have been born here and I will never cease to thank Him for all He has given me as a citizen of this nation.
Beyond thanking God to be an American, I thank Him for Jesus who rescued me from the wrath I so greatly deserve. I thank Jesus who gave His all that I might have life and life eternal. There is no greater freedom than that freedom wrought by the blood of the Lamb. Today, I sang God Bless America and I thanked God for those who died to keep my nation free. I also sang Amazing Grace and I thanked God for the Soul Cleansing Blood of the Lamb. The day will come when there is no America for which to thank God. However, there will never be a time to cease thanking God for the ultimate sacrifice, that of His Only Begotten Son. “Amazing Grace, how sweet the sound that saved a wretch like me. I once was lost, but now I see. ‘Twas blind, but . . .”
In Christ Free,
cb