"Together"

Deep down in the southland,

And far up the east coast,

All across the heartland,

Who loves our country most?

Out in the western ranges,

Mountains tall and bold,

Pacific waves a-crashing,

Patriot hearts of gold.

The faces are all colors,

The accents so diverse,

The cultures of the people,

Together we rehearse,

The great mantra of freedom,

Created equal we,

So many bled and died for,

This way of life to be.

This hope brings us together,

We long for harmony,

We celebrate this union,

Though we can disagree.

But this is the idea,

That freedom’s blessing brings,

We can celebrate it,

But differ on some things.

So reach out to your brother,

And to your sister, too.

And let’s all work together,

For the red, white, and blue.

“Share each other’s burdens…” (Gal. 6:2, NLT)

Freedom is a beautiful, God-given blessing. It is also a burden because it must be handled with care. Being a good steward of freedom means we learn to work together to preserve, defend and pass it along to our children. We learn to cut each other slack, especially when we disagree. We learn to pray for each other, love each other and forgive each other. We learn to give respect, and put aside animosity and division, not because we agree on all issues but because we share a belief in God-given liberty, equality and justice. As believers in Jesus, our responsibility is even greater. We promote a way of life that offers spiritual freedom, too, and love people into it as much as we can with the Spirit’s help. We connect the dots between our love for God and our regard for others, especially the least of these. We do this because we love our country, but more importantly, because we love Jesus and He says love one another. As my friend, Jack Kale, says, “Love one. Love another.” So be it.

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