Articles
What a Price for Freedom
The other night we were watching a documentary on Point-du-hoc., Point-du-hoc was the place many of our special forces entered the war against Germany, WWII. It was their assignment to scale sheer cliffs and knock out many German forces before the assault of June 6, 1944. As on June 6, when forces began to land on the beaches of Normandy, so many men lost their lives at Point-du-hoc. There is a monument to these men at this point.
As we watched this documentary I thought, “What a tremendous price was paid for our freedom.” Each one of these men were the sons of parents. They were husbands in some cases. Mothers and fathers would never see their sons again. Wives would never see their husbands. Children would never see their fathers. A whole generation was lost because of the price these men paid for the freedom of the United States of America and the world. We owe these men a great depth of gratitude. Tom Brokaw wrote of these men as “The Greatest Generation.” While my father was not at Point-du-hoc, he did serve in the war and is part of that great generation.
Then, as I thought about the great price paid for our freedom here, my mind soon shifted to the great price that was paid for our freedom from sin. The Son of God willingly gave His life that we might have the opportunity to be set free from sin. As heinous as the scourge of Nazi Germany was to the world, it is nothing compared to the scourge of sin in this world. What a tremendous price was paid for our freedom from sin. What a great price was paid for our hope of being forgiven. If we owe the men of WWII a great debt of thanks, it is nothing compared to the debt of gratitude we owe to our Savior. So, we sing, “What A Savior.”
The price of freedom is not cheap. Someone pays for it. Someone gave their life for it. We who receive the benefits must never forget those who made freedom possible, whether it was from tyranny of men or tyranny of Satan. We have the opportunity to be set free. So, we can say, “Free, free, free at last.”
Rickie Jenkins
