Freedom Isn’t Free - A Veteran’s Day Reflection
Today in honor of Veteran’s Day, I’m overcome with the sentiment that freedom is one of the most treasured words in our nation. We wake up each day able to worship freely, speak our minds, gather with believers, and live without fear of persecution. Yet none of that came without a cost. Our freedom as Americans exists because men and women were willing to stand in harm’s way, leave their families, risk their lives, and in many cases, give all they had. Their sacrifice reminds us that freedom isn’t free.
Freedom is more than the absence of restraint; it’s the opportunity to choose. We have the right to gather in worship, and some may choose not to. We have the right to speak truth, and some may choose to remain silent. That is the beauty and the burden of freedom: the choices we make reveal what we truly value. The freedom our service members defend allows us to live according to conscience, to worship, to love, to raise our families, and to share truth without fear. What we do with that freedom is what gives it meaning.
Jesus said in John 15:13:
“Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends.”
When we honor our veterans, we remember that kind of love. A love that puts others before self, duty before comfort, and service before safety. While some have given their lives on the battlefield, others lay down their lives daily through sacrifice, endurance, and unwavering devotion to something greater than themselves. Their willingness to lay down their lives echoes the greatest act of love the world has ever known: Christ laying down His life for us.
The parallel runs deep. Just as our national freedom was purchased at great cost, our spiritual freedom was bought with the blood of Jesus Christ, an even greater sacrifice. We are reminded of God’s purchase of us in 1 Corinthians 6:20:
“For ye are bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which are God’s.”
His sacrifice broke the chains of sin and gave us liberty that no government, army, or enemy can ever take away.
As we celebrate Veterans Day, let us thank God for those who defend our earthly freedoms and remember the Saviour who secured our eternal one. May we never take either for granted. Let gratitude move us to live lives worthy of such costly gifts to glorify God in all we do, and to use our freedom not for self, but in service to others and to Him.
Freedom gives us a choice in how we live, how we serve, and who we honor with the time we’ve been given. May we choose to use our freedom for good, to stand for truth, to love boldly, and to live in a way that reflects Christ who gave everything to set us free.
