“When we honor our flag, we honor what it stands for as a nation—
freedom, equality, justice, and hope.” Ronald Reagan
What does the flag mean to Americans? Most of us think about our American flag whenever we are led in the Pledge of Allegiance. We have repeated the words, “one nation, under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all,” not thinking of the connection between the words “liberty” and “under God.”
Our flag represents a republic, which is a form of government where supreme power resides with the citizens who elect representatives to govern on their behalf. The guiding principles of our American Republic have their origins in Scripture. When we pledge allegiance to our flag, we are affirming our belief that our nation is “under God” and our only hope to be “self-governing.”
What do we mean by liberty? A core principle of our American Republic is Biblical liberty under law. Webster’s 1828 American Dictionary of the English Language defines liberty as “freedom from restraint” and “secured by established laws which restrain every man from injuring or controlling another.”
Our external liberty is a direct result of our internal liberty in Christ and the Word of God. Help us, Lord, to stand fast in the liberty wherewith Christ has made us free and be not entangled again in the yoke of bondage (Galatians 5:1).
When you see our banner of red, white, and blue with the field of stars, remember our liberty! This year, as America celebrates her 250th birthday, remember the Author of Liberty!
Teach the children America’s Christian History Family Time Talks
- What does our American flag represent?
- What do we mean by “liberty?”
- What does the American flag mean to YOU?
(National Flag Day is celebrated every June 14th to commemorate the adoption of the flag of the United States on June 14, 1777, by resolution of the Second Continental Congress. In 1916, President Woodrow Wilson issued a proclamation that officially established June 14th as Flag Day.)
