Getting your Trinity Audio player ready...

From the writings of the Rev. Billy Graham

Dear Rev. Graham: The Statue of Liberty is a symbol that America has always been proud of because it represents the freedom offered to those who come to this nation the “right way.” The Christian faith is built on the liberty that Jesus won for us at the cross, and I hope that believers everywhere will share this story with those who are looking for the right way to come to salvation in Jesus Christ. — L.C.

Dear L.C.: The 100th anniversary of the Statue of Liberty in New York Harbor emphasized the great number of legal immigrants who had left everything behind in their mother countries. Coming to America with nothing but the clothes on their backs, they risked their lives for something they valued and wanted: freedom. They did not take their adopted country’s hard-won freedom for granted.
Christians, likewise, must not take for granted the freedom we have in Christ. Christians around the world recognize that we must forsake our allegiance to this world, leave behind all that it offers, and become citizens of a new kingdom — the Kingdom of God. The “statue of liberty” for believers is represented by the cross of Jesus — where He won the victory over death and declares that sinners can win salvation that comes only from Him. The right way, and the only way, to eternal life is through Christ alone.
As long as we are on this earth, we possess dual citizenship as citizens of our nation and the Kingdom of God, but our supreme loyalty is to the King of kings and Lord of lords, and the liberty He offers is secured forever. “It was for freedom [from sin] that Christ set us free” (Galatians 5:1, NASB).
—————
(This column is based on the words and writings of the late Rev. Billy Graham.)