July 6: Statue of Liberty

She stands majestically in New York Harbor, torch held aloft, welcoming weary travelers from distant shores. In her arm she cradles a tablet on which are etched these words: “Give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses yearning to breathe free, the wretched refuse of your teeming shore. Send these, the homeless, tempest-tossed to me. I lift my lamp beside the Golden Door.” Now there’s an immigration policy!

Lady Liberty was the focal point of waves of immigrants, who came (and still come) to the shores of the United States from all over the world. Their first glimpse of the Statue was one they never forgot, for it meant the end of poverty and oppression and the beginning of new hope. The great nation of of America was created by millions of immigrants, who knew that freedom and opportunity were open to them in the new land, which they helped settle and build from the Atlantic to the Pacific.

The Statue of Liberty has long been a symbol of freedom and hope, extending her invitation to a new life, of sorts. We have many such symbols. For me, the cross of Jesus (whom I believe to be the Christ, the Messiah) is the ultimate symbol of freedom and hope.

Jesus extends an invitation as well:
"Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. 30 For my yoke is easy and my burden is light." (Matthew 11:28-30)

If you are worn out and weighed down, come to me and find rest for your souls. Soul rest. That’s very different than rest for one’s body. How do we find "rest for our souls"?

"For Christ died for sins once for all, the righteous (innocent) for the unrighteous (guilty), to bring you to God. He was put to death in the body but made alive by the Spirit" (1 Peter 3:18)

"Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come! All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation: that God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not counting men's sins against them. (2 Cor 5:17-19)

Forgiveness. Being reconciled to your Creator. Having purpose and passion. All things made new. Free.

~ Father, thank you for the freedom, new life and forgiveness that we find in Jesus. Amen.