Chet Kwiat
Have you ever wondered what happened to the 56 men who signed the “Declaration of Independence?” Five were captured by the British as traitors and tortured before they died. Twelve had their homes ransacked and burned. Two lost their sons in the revolutionary army and another had two sons captured. Nine of the 56 fought and died from wounds or hardships of the Revolutionary War. These men signed knowing full well it might cost them everything by doing so. All paid a price for our nation to gain its freedom from Britain.
This goes to remind us that freedom is not and has never been free. The well-known verse from Romans 6:26 says, “For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life through Christ Jesus our Lord.” Just as our national freedom cost many of those men dearly, our sin cost the world dearly. The very Son of God had to suffer what might be the most painful form of execution devised by man, not only physical but also the pain of humiliation as he was paraded through the streets of Jerusalem, and the pain of seeing many of those closest to him abandon him in his time of suffering. Even though the gift of salvation is free to us, in that we cannot earn it, Jesus paid a great price for it. Our national freedom was very costly as many people throughout our history have sacrificed greatly so we can be free. Let us be thankful to Jesus, and to all the men and women who sacrificed for our freedom.
Chet Kwiat is the Pastor of Christian Fellowship Church, which meets at Robson Ranch on Saturdays in the Laredo Room at 4 p.m. Of note, no services will be held in August. Services will return on Sept. 7, the first Saturday of September.