Fight for liberty

Somewhere in the United States, a man and woman sat on a bus, talking to each other about God. The bus driver told them that they could not talk about religion on a public bus and warned them that if they continued, they would have to walk. The man mentioned God once more, and the bus driver made them leave the bus and walk the rest of the way.      Ironically, if the man and woman had been misusing God’s name, this Communist bus driver would have had no problem with it. If they had said, “Oh God,” or “Jesus Christ,” in a cheap, trivial way, a secular state would have no problem with that. It only has a problem with the respectful use of God’s name.      I mention this story, not to scare you, but to warn of where we would end up if we continued with this redefinition of religious freedom. This keep-it-to-yourself mentality is a driving force in the war against Christianity.      We must respond calmly and respectfully whenever someone brings up this imaginary law against religion in public places. We must explain that the First Amendment prohibits the Congress from interfering with religion, which allows individuals the freedom to be religious in every area of life.      The founding fathers taught that God ordains the state to secure our rights. God gives them; the government secures them. The Declaration of Independence explains it this way; “…all Men are created equal...endowed by their Creator with...unalienable Rights, ... to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed, . . .” The U.S. Constitution explains it this way; “We the People of the United States, in Order to . . . secure the Blessings of Liberty to . . . our Posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution.” The Constitution exists to secure the blessings of liberty given by God.      I know what you’re thinking. How can rights and liberties be a gift from God if we still have to fight for them? It’s a good question. If I have to work and fight in order to keep something; then, by definition, it cannot be a gift. It is easy here to confuse responsibility with autonomy. Because God holds us responsible for something, we imagine that he depends on us to get it done for him.      Perhaps the best way to explain is to use the analogy of a woman having a child. A woman is expecting a baby, and she considers her child a gift from God. This does not negate responsibility and work involved to care for this child. In fact, it is her trust that acknowledges the child worthy of the effort. It will take a lot of effort to carry, deliver, and care for this gift from God.      So it is with a nation that acknowledges God. She will fight for and protect those rights and liberties precisely because they are a gift from God. A nation that does not first see the value in those rights will have no motivation to fight for them.      God reveals his truth to every nation. Certain rights are self-evident and inalienable. God holds people responsible for acknowledging them, and he uses governments to fight for and protect them. This way, we can be thankful both to God and to those who fight.