Tamara Colbert: The Joyful Sacrifice of Independence

As I write this, I’m listening to a soldier (missing a limb), happily talk about his sacrifice and that in the scheme of what America means is was small. Think about that for a minute. What the average American might see as a tremendous sacrifice, to this SFC sees his loss of limb as just a minor blip in both his life and American history.

Sacrifice. As we celebrate our Independence, I pray that we will also contemplate the joy in the sacrifice of not just the leaders who essentially signed their death warrants on our Declaration of Independence, but also the Constitution. They pledged their lives, their fortunes and their sacred honor. Yes, some gave all.

The question today is: Are you willing to pledge your life, your fortune and sacred honor to save the ideal that is America?

Are you willing to sacrifice, to risk to ante in to the game with everything you can give in order to reclaim Constitutional governance in America and re-commit to the principals therein?

Dr. Richard Lee, author of “In God We Still Trust,” writes in the July 4 devotional: “Thank you, Lord, for the men and women who gave their lives for the freedom of the Republic in which we live today. Help me to be as bold and brave as they were when it is my turn to protect this land.”

John Adams reflected upon the signing of the Declaration on July 3, 1776, “this day should be celebrated by succeeding generations as the great anniversary festival. It ought to be commemorated as the day of deliverance, by solemn acts of devotion to God Almighty. It ought to be solemnized with pomp and parade, with shows, games, sports, guns, bells, bonfires, and illuminations, from one end of the continent to the other, from this time forward forever.

“You will think me transported with enthusiasm, Adams continued. “But I am not. I am well aware of the toil and blood and treasure that it will cost to maintain this Declaration and support and defend these States. Yet through all the gloom I can see the rays of ravishing light and glory. I can see that the end is worth more than all the means; that posterity will triumph in that day’s transaction, even though we may regret it, which I trust in God we shall not.”

Today, let us not regret, but feel renewed, with what those who gave and sacrificed at liberty’s tree. Let us be inspired by a Republic where we can live, dream, create and innovate as we choose. It is time to humble ourselves and look upward—for Divine guidance as we navigate these unchartered waters of tyranny on our soil. And let us move onward boldly proclaiming that all men (and women) are born free through the DNA as God created. Let us not shirk or stumble or sway from our duty to protect this sacred blessing.

“The righteous cry out, and the Lord hears, and delivers them out of all their troubles.” Psalm 34:17

Let us go forth in JOY, led by peace to share the true message of hope and freedom in the liberty that America has enjoyed for 233 years.

(This article was originally published in 2014.)