When Thomas Jefferson sat down and wrote that “all men are created equal” it wasn’t just part of a declaration of a new country being formed, it was a declaration of war.
The idea that people were created in the image of God (imago dei) came straight out of Genesis 1:27. It was a revolutionary idea because it meant that each and every person created by God had certain rights endowed upon them by their Creator and, as such, no human king had the right to trample on or negate those rights.
And that meant war.
The first veterans in this new country of the United States of America fought for a concept that has echoed throughout the world and changed it forever:
Freedom.
Approximately two-thirds of the world’s population now lives in full or partial democracies inspired by the American Revolution.
Freedom was a revolutionary concept then and it still is now, but it didn’t originate with Jefferson. John 8:36:
“So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed.” (NIV)
I have stood in the Jefferson Memorial in Washington, D.C. next to the 19-foot tall statue of Thomas Jefferson and read (and memorized) the words inscribed in the stone of the dome that encircles his head that reads:
“I have sworn upon the altar of God eternal hostility against every form of tyranny over the mind of man.”
The point is that while Jefferson and other founders of our country may not have held exactly the same theology as any particular Christian denomination today, they were willing to lay down their lives to defend every person’s right and freedom to work out their salvation with fear and trembling (Philippians 2:12) –no matter what it was.
So, on this Veteran’s Day, let us remember that the idea of freedom for the same kind of ordinary people like Jesus called to be His disciples was something that originated with our Father and our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.
And let us never forget those who were willing to lay down their lives to defend that freedom.
Today’s Praise
PROCLAIM LIBERTY THROUGHOUT ALL THE LAND UNTO ALL THE INHABITANTS THEREOF. LEV. XXV X (Leviticus 25:10)
(Inscription on the Liberty Bell.)