Want to live to be 100?  You'll need single nucleotide polymorphisms, according to this morning's CNN website.  This DNA sequence variation is now thought to contribute to healthy aging.  Even for those with such genetic advantages, however, the death rate is still 100%.

 

Of course, Uncle Sam and Lady Liberty are immune to the vagaries of old age.  We've spent this week discussing the history of Sunday's Independence Day and its spiritual significance.  Let's close by considering the couple which most symbolizes our nation and her freedoms.

 

No one knows exactly when "Uncle Sam" was created.  The best guess goes back to 1812 and one Samuel Wilson, a meat packer who provided meat for the U.S. Army.  Shipments from Mr. Wilson were stamped with the initials, "U.S."  Someone joked that the initials stood for "Uncle Sam," leading eventually to "Uncle Sam" as the familiar symbol of the United States government, clad in top hat and red, white and blue.

 

The most stirring symbol of our nation, the Statue of Liberty was envisioned as a partnership in freedom between America and France.  We would construct the pedestal, while the French people would create the statue.  Joseph Pulitzer (for whom the Pulitzer Prize is named) used his newspaper to help raise funds for our part of the arrangement.  Alexandre Gustave Eiffel (designer of the Eiffel Tower) designed the massive iron pylon and framework for the Statue's copper skin; Sculptor Frederic Auguste Bartholdi designed the sculpture itself.

 

The project was intended to be completed by 1876, marking the 100th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence, but took 10 years longer than anticipated.  The Statue arrived in New York Harbor in June of 1885, her 350 individual sections packed in 214 crates.  She was reassembled over four months; on October 28, 1886, the Statue was dedicated.

 

A century later, after a five-year, $87 million restoration headed by Lee Iacocca, the Statue was reopened to the public on July 5, 1986.  Her crown was closed on September 11, 2001, and reopened on July 4 of last year.

 

Her official name is "Liberty Enlightening the World."  Lady Liberty is dressed in a loose robe cascading to the top of her pedestal.  She holds in her right hand a great torch, raised as a beacon to the nations.  Her left arm cradles a tablet which bears the date of the Declaration of Independence.  Her crown imitates the sun's rays.  A shackle representing the overthrow of tyranny lies at her feet.  She has stood through two world wars and perhaps the most tumultuous century in history, welcoming all who seek freedom on her shores.

 

For Christians, the cross is our eternal statue of liberty.  Made of wood, erected in hatred, it held a Man of Sorrows.  His robe was stolen, his crown made of thorns.  His death broke the shackles of sin.  His light of liberty offers spiritual freedom to all who follow him by faith.

 

Best of all, like Uncle Sam, he wants you: "Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest" (Matthew 11:28).  Will you make time to accept his invitation this weekend?

 

Copyright © 2010 The Center for Informed Faith.  All rights reserved.