Biblical Citizenship

By Brandee Gillham

The Cowboy’s Wife

 

       John Quincy Adams said, “You will never know how much it cost my generation to preserve your freedom. I hope you will make good use of it.” This statement pierced me deeply. Have we ever really learned what sacrifices were made on our behalf to provide us the freedom we so richly enjoy in America?

       

       When the fifty-six men signed their names to the Declaration of Independence, King George ordered his soldiers to find and execute them all. These men knew they would all die the death of a traitor if captured. John Adams, on the eve of the signing, wrote to his wife Abigail, “I am well aware of the toil, and blood, and treasure, that it will cost to maintain this declaration, and support and defend these states; yet, through all the gloom I can see the rays of light and glory. I can see that the end is worth more than all the means.”

 

       As if the son’s first quote didn’t cut me to the core, his father’s statement stabbed me in the heart. We are the end. We are the American people that the founding fathers fought so hard for. I keep asking myself What would the founding fathers be doing in our current state of affairs? How do we balance preserving health and preserving freedom? What will the impact of the decisions today be on my children and grandchildren?  I decided to do some research on how far some of them went to find those answers.

 

       Abraham Clark was a lawyer, farmer and surgeon from New Jersey. He was often in bad health but that did not deter him from fulfilling his duty to Congress. Two of his sons served as officers in the American army; both were captured by the enemy and because their father was a signer they were subject to brutality and confined to a prison ship, the Jersey. Abraham Clark was informed by the British that his sons would be released ONLY if he deserted the American cause. He did not desert. He refrained from exerting his influence in Congress in favor of his sons. I cannot fathom how hard that decision was for him. 

 

       John Hart was also from New Jersey and he was fiercely hunted. The British marched down the road to his house and he fled leaving his wife and 13 children. I don’t consider that decision to be one of a man with much gumption, but I also wasn’t there. He was scarcely able to elude his enemies, he was often in desperate need of food and necessities and slept in caves or out in the open in the frigid December weather, never sleeping in the same place two nights in a row. When the British finally evacuated he returned home to find his wife dead and his children scattered by the British. This was sacrifice. To stand and sign our Declaration cost him dearly. 

 

       I will leave you with a few powerful statements that are in our Declaration of Independence. “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness. – That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just power from the consent of the governed, - That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive to these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government.”

 

What does this declaration mean to you and what are you doing to preserve freedom?

 

I know exactly where I stand.

 

Do you?