Reigniting the Fading Fire of Liberty

By:  Dale Weckbacher

2 Corinthians 3:17

Now the Lord is the Spirit; and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty.

NKJV

Next Thursday we will celebrate Christmas.  In addition, today is the beginning of Chanukah.  Both of these holidays have much in common.  Christians and Jews who both worship the God of Israel and the Bible celebrate the holidays.  Both holidays also celebrate a miracle of light. 

Chanukah celebrates two things,

1)      The 2nd century BCE victory of a small, greatly outnumbered and out-armed army of Jews, known as the “Maccabees,” over the mighty Greek army that occupied the Holy Land.  The rebellion was in response to the Greek attempt to force a Hellenistic G‑dless lifestyle on the Jewish inhabitants of Israel.

2)      The kindling of a seven-branched Menorah (candelabra) was an important component of the daily service in the Holy Temple.  When the Maccabees liberated the Temple from the hands of the Greek invaders, they found only a small cruse of pure and undefiled olive oil fit for fueling the Menorah.  The problem was, it was sufficient to light the Menorah only for one day, and it would take eight days to produce new pure oil.  Miraculously, the oil burned for eight days and nights.  (1)

For Christians, the celebration of Christmas is a celebration of the birth of Jesus Christ who came to bring salvation to lost mankind (Acts 4:8-12).  Jesus may have been humbly born in a manger but his birth was anything but normal.  Jesus birth was momentous for an announcement of angels and a great light accompanied it (Luke 2:8-12).  The gift of Jesus, given by God the Father on the first Christmas made it possible for the light of the Spirit of God to enter peoples’ lives.  All anyone has to do is believe and they will receive eternal life (John 3:16). 

The founding of the United States of America lit the torch of liberty.  The Statue of Liberty was given to the Nation by the people of France in recognition of the friendship established between the two nations during the American Revolution.  (2)  Thousands of immigrants that came to the United States from Europe saw Miss Liberty and many no doubt understood that they were coming to start a new life in the land of liberty.  However, through the years, the fire of the torch of liberty has begun to grow dim but the embers of liberty are still hot in our country, which means we still have an opportunity to reignite the fire of liberty in the United States. 

To reignite the fire of liberty we must,

1)      Return to the Godly principles of the Bible – The Bible is the inerrant Word of God.  It is God speaking to us and provides the guideline with which we should live.  Unfortunately, the United States has drifted from following these principles and replaced it with the ungodly philosophy of post-modernism.  One of the most surprising movies to come out recently is the movie God’s not Dead.  I do not want to spoil it for those that have not had an opportunity to see the movie and would encourage everyone reading this to secure a copy and watch it.  The movie presents a contrast between God, and His Word, and secular philosophies like post-modernism.  The movie also shows how easily young minds can be deceived but also demonstrates the power of one individual taking a stand for what is right. 

2)      Realize the true source of the rights of citizens – The Declaration of Independence tells us that citizens are endowed by their creator with certain inalienable rights.  (3)  Rights are inalienable or irrevocable and their source is our creator, not the government.  Governments’ role as outlined in the U.S. Constitution is the protection of the citizens God given rights.  Unfortunately, for many years in the United States, citizens have turned away from the principle of God as the purveyor of rights and instead, look to government as the purveyor of their rights.  Of course, there is always some opportunistic politician ready to take advantage of this power and develop some government program that supposedly provides a right for some group of citizens.  These opportunistic politicians use their power to continue winning election by telling voters their opposition wants to deprive them of their rights.  As voters continue to look to government for the provision of their rights, the light of liberty for the nation keeps growing dimmer and dimmer. 

To reignite the flame of liberty in our nation we must as individuals learn to live according to Godly principles.  In these times of uncertainty, many are seeking answers.  They continue to turn to government only to be continually disappointed.  This causes the spirit or flame to dim in our lives.  It is only the light of the Holy Spirit that can reignite the spirit within and give us individual liberty (2 Corinthians 3:17).

We then must return to the role of government as the protector of individual rights and not the purveyor of these rights.  Unfortunately, secular philosophies have indoctrinated several generations to look to government as the solution to their problems.  This is where each of us that are believers in Jesus Christ comes in.  Jesus parting words to His followers was to share the gospel with every creature.  Jesus understood that the only way to reignite the flame of liberty for a nation was to reignite the spirit of mankind by being born again through the power of the Gospel. 

I want to challenge everyone reading this to join me and begin sharing the Gospel in both our words and deeds.  If you are unsure how to share the gospel, you can point people to www.dalewsr34.wix.com/needanswers.  This website contains a presentation of the Gospel, access to an affordable print and free online Bible, a church finder, access to services online, and additional reading to encourage them to grow in their walk with the Lord. 

As the light of the Spirit of God begins to shine in the hearts of men and women, I believe they will begin to realize the true source of their rights and provision and begin to rely less and less on government and more on God. 

1. www.chabad.org. Chanukah FAQ's. www.chabad.org. [Online] Chabad.org. [Cited: December 16, 2014.] http://www.chabad.org/holidays/chanukah/article_cdo/aid/605036/jewish/Chanukah-FAQs.htm.

2. Skillings, Pamela. Statue of Liberty. manhattan.about.com. [Online] About Travel. [Cited: December 16, 2014.] http://manhattan.about.com/od/historyandlandmarks/a/statueofliberty.htm.

3. ushistory.org. The Declaration of Independence. www.ushistory.org. [Online] [Cited: December 16, 2014.] http://www.ushistory.org/Declaration/document/.