It’s great to have a day to celebrate the freedom we are privileged to enjoy. The American flag is a reminder of our history, our promise for today, and represents our hope for the next generations. I’m glad for a day that encourages me to be humbly grateful that, throughout our nation’s history, someone else’s child offered to die for mine.

The message today is short because it’s simple. If others have died so we can live, we should live in such a way that we honor their sacrifice. We ought to make this country a place that is worthy of the profound price that has been paid.

People fought for our freedom of speech. We should be thoughtful about what we say. People died so we could feel safe. We ought to work to help keep our communities safe for others. People chose to serve our country as their daily work. We ought to work every day to serve others too.

Rosa Parks said, “I’d like to be remembered as a person who wanted to be free and wanted other people to be also free.” All of us should share her goal, and Jesus taught us how.

Our greatest freedom is our freedom in Christ. Jesus said, “If the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed” (John 8:36). Jesus was speaking to Jewish people who struggled to believe the gospel message. Jesus told them they were slaves to the hundreds of rules Jewish leaders had written for them to obey. Jesus told them, “If you hold to my teaching, you are really my disciples. Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free” (John 8:31–32).

Our greatest freedom is walking in the truth that Jesus gave his life to provide for us. If we hold to his teaching, we are his disciples and we know the truth that will set us free. So, I would like to echo Rosa Parks and say, “I’d like to be remembered as a person who wanted to be free and wanted other people to be also free.”

We are blessed to enjoy great freedom in this country. We will be eternally blessed to enjoy our highest freedom in eternity. Jesus also said, “By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another” (John 13:35). If others have died so we can live, we should live in such a way that we honor their sacrifice. If we live today as disciples of Christ, we will honor God and our country. We do have a lot to celebrate!