Freedom at a Cost: Remembering the Cross and the Battlefield

By Chaz Evanson, Candidate for Governor of Colorado

Two Battlegrounds, One Truth. There are two battlegrounds where your freedom was won, one atop a lonely hill outside Jerusalem, the other on the blood-soaked fields of Lexington, Concord, Valley Forge, and beyond. Jesus Christ secured your eternal freedom on the Cross. American patriots secured your national freedom on the battlefield. One was for your soul. The other was for your country. Both came at an immeasurable cost. Both are gifts we can never repay.

The Cross: The Ultimate Sacrifice for Eternal Liberty. When Jesus Christ gave His life on the Cross, He purchased a freedom far greater than any nation could offer. His was not a temporary or political liberation, it was eternal. It was not enforced by armies; it was offered in love. As Galatians 5:1 declares, “For freedom Christ has set us free; stand firm therefore, and do not submit again to a yoke of slavery.” The sacrifice of Christ was the victory over sin, death, and judgment. We didn’t earn it, we received it by grace through faith. Our response to such an indescribable gift is not to repay it, but to live lives worthy of it. Ephesians 4:1 commands us to “walk in a manner worthy of the calling to which you have been called.” Living worthy of the Cross means a life of obedience, love, holiness, and courageous truth. If Christ died to make us free, we must not use that freedom as a license to sin, but as power to live righteously.

The Battlefield: The Price of National Independence. While Christ died for your soul, brave patriots fought and died for your sovereignty. From 1774 to 1781, and in countless battles since, men and women laid down their lives so that this nation might be free, not just to vote or to speak, but to worship, to own land, to raise families in peace, and to live under law, not under tyranny. Our Founders understood a truth many have forgotten: liberty is a gift from God, not a grant from government. As Thomas Jefferson wrote, “The God who gave us life gave us liberty at the same time.” Samuel Adams declared, “It is for the freedom of the soul that we took up arms.” The American Revolution was not merely a revolt against taxes, it was a stand for the dignity of the individual, the rights of conscience, and the responsibility of self-government. But that stand came at a high price: blood, hunger, cold, suffering, and sacrifice. Like Christ’s sacrifice, their gift requires a response, not one of repayment, but of gratitude and stewardship.

Our Dual Duty: Live Worthy of Both Sacrifices. We are heirs of two freedoms, eternal and earthly, and we bear responsibility for both. One cannot be separated from the other. If you cherish the freedom Christ won on Calvary, then honor the national freedom that allows you to proclaim His name without persecution. If you value the liberties won at Valley Forge, then remember the moral foundations that make that liberty possible. Today, our nation teeters not for lack of strength, but for lack of purpose. We have inherited liberty but abandoned the virtue and faith that uphold it. Freedom is not self-sustaining, it must be lived, guarded, and passed on.

Faithfulness in Word and in Deed. True remembrance is not found in flags alone, or songs, or parades. Those are important, but they are not enough. Freedom is preserved not by ceremony, but by conviction. We must live in a way that honors the price paid, by our Savior and by our soldiers. That means speaking the truth boldly, loving our neighbor faithfully, resisting tyranny courageously, and engaging civically with purpose and humility. Live a life worthy of Christ’s sacrifice by loving righteousness and walking in faith. Live a life worthy of the patriots’ sacrifice by standing firm for justice, liberty, and the Constitution.

Forget Neither, Lose Both. If we forget the Cross, we forfeit our spiritual freedom. If we forget the battlefield, we will lose our civil liberty. We must remember both, not just in word, but in deed. Not just with our mouths, but with our lives. We must pass this sacred legacy to our children and grandchildren, a legacy of faith and freedom, inseparable and indivisible. As Scripture says, “Greater love has no one than this, that someone lay down his life for his friends” (John 15:13). And as the Declaration of Independence proclaims, “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal and endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights…”

Conclusion: The Cause of Liberty is Sacred. Let us never forget the price. Let us never take for granted the gift. Let us live each day in a way that honors both sacrifices, the Cross and the Constitution. This campaign isn’t just about winning votes. It’s about restoring the soul of a people and rebuilding a state grounded in truth, virtue, and liberty. That work begins not in the halls of government, but in the hearts of men.

Let us live worthy.

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