Daily Devotional for July 4, 2019
Lady Liberty
Isaac closed his eyes and let the cool breeze of the New York Bay wash over his face. He turned to his sister, Hannah, who was standing next to him on the ferry headed toward Liberty Island. “I can’t wait to see the Statue of Liberty up close! My friend Zack said she’s as high as a twenty-two-story building!”
“Wow!” Hannah squealed as she craned her neck to see around her brother and catch a glimpse of the statue. “And just think, tonight Lady Liberty will be surrounded by fireworks!”
“That’s right,” Mom said. “It’s even more special that we get to see the Statue of Liberty on the Fourth of July. Today is a very special day in our country. Do you remember why?”
“Yes,” Isaac answered. “It’s Independence Day! In school we learned that on July 4, 1776, America declared that we would be a new nation and no longer be ruled by the British. We wanted to be a nation where people could come and be free.”
“Just imagine if we were new immigrants coming to America and we were seeing Lady Liberty for the first time,” Hannah chimed in. “It would be so exciting to know we were starting a new life!”
Mom smiled. “I’m glad to hear you’ve been paying attention during your history lessons. The Statue of Liberty is a beautiful symbol of freedom, and it makes me think of another symbol of freedom—the cross.”
“The cross? Like the cross Jesus died on?” Hannah asked. “What does the cross have to do with freedom from the British?”
Mom gently laughed and said, “The cross doesn’t give us freedom from the British, but it does give us a different kind of freedom. When Jesus died on the cross and rose from the dead, He freed us from the bondage of sin. The cross reminds us that we have freedom and a new life in Him.”
“Oh, I get it!” said Isaac. “The cross is a symbol of freedom for Christians.”
“And if I’m a follower of Jesus, then I’m a little lady of liberty!” Hannah said with a giggle.
“That’s right,” Mom said. “We have two kinds of freedom we can celebrate on Independence Day!” Rachel Vruggink
How about you?
When you see a symbol of the cross, do you think of the freedom you have in Jesus? If you trust in Him, then you are no longer a slave to sin. You are free to live your life in a way that pleases God. If you know Jesus, thank Him today for the freedom He’s given you. If you don’t, you can celebrate freedom from sin today by trusting in Him. (To learn more, click the “Good News!” button in the right column of this page.)
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