THE OTHER STATUE OF LIBERTY

By Dr. M. R. Dowler

Most of us know a few basic details about the Statue of Liberty; it was a gift from France of a woman holding a torch in her hand. And its greenish patina tint is the result of the weathering process of the copper it was made of. But there is another statue of liberty probably few are aware of. It is called the National Monument to the Forefathers in Plymouth MA, formerly named the Pilgrims’ Monument.

The 81-foot high National Monument was over sixty years in the making, from its design in 1820 to its dedication on August 1, 1889, just thirty-four months after the Statue of Liberty was dedicated in New York Harbor. The National Monument features a central statue symbolizing faith in the center with one hand pointing to heaven and the other holding the Bible. Along the base are four smaller, seated statues representing Morality, Law, Education and Liberty.

Spiritual liberty is one of the hallmarks of the doctrine of salvation (James 1:25). Simply stated,  it is the deliverance from sin through the transforming power of grace (Galatians 5:13), and true liberty in Christ alone is the message of the gospel itself (Galatians 2:4-5). Interestingly, the precursor of spiritual liberty is found in the Old Testament Year of Jubilee celebrated every fifty years in ancient Israel (Leviticus 25:8-10) in which men and land was released from bondage or mortgage.

The word liberty is used twenty-seven times in the Bible (KJV) and it always points to freedom from some sort of bondage. Theologically, Christians are free from the condemnation of sin through faith in Christ (John 3:16-19). In this life, brethren, we are free from the power, but not the presence of sin. The National Monument serves as a matrix of the Christian faith portrayed in granite. Christian actor Kirk Cameron featured this statue of spiritual liberty in his 2012 documentary Monumental. So celebrate your national liberty today and your spiritual liberty everyday. Think about it. Happy Fourth of July.