What if I placed a document before you and told you that if you were to sign it, it could cost you your life? Even still a great reward would await should you be victorious. The reward…LIBERTY! Finally! A freedom to pursue your dreams, to break the bonds of mediocrity and exchange them for greatness, to provide a life for your family and all those thereafter to live happy and wealthy lives, should you so choose. This freedom was not respective of birthright or name but dependent only on dedication, work, and will!
So I ask again, would you sign it? Would you sign your name, knowing that act could be met with the most severe of punishments: death? Or would the risk be overshadowed by a desire to be free?
This is exactly the option that was placed before the founders 238 years ago on this very week. During the second Continental Congress in Pennsylvania a bond would be forged in freedom and sealed in the blood of patriots. This day, these men would pledge to one another their lives, their fortunes and their sacred honor. On July 4th 1776 Congress adopted a Declaration of Independence and determined to be free, even if it cost them their lives.
While the document was not completely signed until a few months later, the spirit of freedom rang true throughout the colonies now known as states. By July 9th of 1776 the Declaration had made its way to New York and into the hands of Commanding Colonial General George Washington. With tensions high as British naval ships occupied the harbor, General Washington read the Declaration aloud from City Hall and ignited a passion never before seen, a passion among men to be free. With freedom in their sights they fought, they battled; they warred, knowing even in the face of death they could be free. In fact, it was Washington who later asserted, “Officers and men fought like men who are determined to be free.”
In the spirit of 1776 I write to you today, dear brother or sister in Christ. Put your quill to paper and sign away your bonds and be free. But only sign if within you burns a passion to fight like you are determined to be free! You see, many years before the inception of liberty in our great nation, blood was shed for freedom. Not the blood of patriots and soldiers but the blood of the very Son of God. It was not shed on the fields of battle but on an old and rugged piece of wood today called the cross. In its place does not stand a piece of paper with the declaration of men but instead a timeless gospel of freedom for all those willing to accept it. A freedom that awaits those who are willing to ascribe their name to His, no matter the cost. As great as that Declaration of Independence was and is, it is still only a temporary, earth-bound freedom and cannot compare to the eternal freedom purchased by His blood.
The cost to us, we know – A life of humble service and commitment to God, by the forfeiture of my life of sin to His life of liberty. While today it may not cost me my life on earth, for many in the first century death was a real consequence and reward of claiming Christ. So it is not a decision to be taken lightly. While, for many the confession and acceptance of Christ cost them their lives, so too can it cost us ours. Even still, in life or in death we are victorious in eternal liberty.
I charge you, therefore, Christian, to take up the whole armor of God and fight to be free. I charge you this day, Christian, to fight for the true liberty of all mankind by sharing with them the good news of Jesus, freeing them from the shackles of sin! Usher the world to freedom, usher them to Heaven. With this as my true mission I will do my duty. In this task I pledge to you and all those who may read these words, my life, my fortune and my sacred honor. To seek and save the lost and set them free.
Onward for Freedom!
Signed,
Andrew Chavarrilla
