These Colors Don’t Run

Elisabeth G. Wolfe

Hello, and welcome to this special July edition of the Chaplain’s Corner.  This is 773 Junior, once again surprising Chappy with a column for his Father’s Day present.  I hadn’t planned to make this a tradition, but with everything that’s been going on lately, I figured he could use another break.

In July we celebrate our great nation’s founding, and a natural part of that celebration involves proudly flying Old Glory.  I still remember learning as a child how to describe the flag:  seven red stripes alternating with six white ones, representing the thirteen original colonies, and a blue canton with fifty white stars, one for each state in the Union.  The red stands for courage, the white for purity, and the blue for loyalty.  Neither the flag’s design nor the meanings of the various emblems have their roots in medieval heraldry, but the traits we now associate with our national colors are virtues that every culture and every age can appreciate.

Courage, loyalty, and purity have special meaning for Americans, though.  Purity may not be something we achieve readily, but we still strive for it, and we are outraged and ashamed when someone in our military or our law enforcement community fails to maintain clean hands and a pure heart.  Likewise, loyalty to country and community characterizes both soldiers and peace officers across the fruited plain, and the fact that LEOs call themselves “the thin blue line” underscores that commitment.  And of course, it takes a great deal of courage to serve in the military or as a LEO, putting one’s life on the line daily so that the rest of us can live safely and happily.  It’s also important to balance all three virtues.  Many criminals have plenty of courage but are loyal only to themselves and have no use for purity.  Likewise, the Red Army emphasized courage and loyalty but dismissed purity as an unnecessary religious foible—and at the close of WWII, German civilians prayed to be captured by the Allies instead, knowing how cruel the Soviets would be.  Purity requires both the courage of conviction and loyalty to a higher standard in order to stay pure, however; otherwise, it can crumble under evil’s relentless attacks.

I don’t know why blue is the color of loyalty, but I believe that red is the color of courage because it is also the color of blood.  Some people wax cynical about the courage it takes to stand in harm’s way and make the ultimate sacrifice for the well-being of others.  But most thinking people are truly grateful for those who stand on the front lines, whether on foreign soil or at home, and don’t shrink from giving all to protect us.  Whether it’s Andy Taylor in Kingsland or Matthew Matula in Iraq, everyone whose blood is spilled in service to this great nation is a hero and deserves our respect and honor.

Jesus said, “Greater love hath no man than this, that he lay down his life for his friends” (John 15:13).  He Himself showed that ultimate love for us, and the Christian flag reflects His embodiment of courage, purity, and loyalty.  The field of the flag is white because His life was sinless.  The blue canton reminds us of His promise never to forsake us; the Bible is full of examples of His faithfulness even in the face of our faithlessness.  And the red cross in that blue canton shows that He carried that loyalty to its logical extreme, courageously laying down His own life to bear the punishment for our sins so that we can receive the gift of eternal life through faith in Him.

Red, white, and blue; courage, purity, and loyalty—these colors don’t run, and these virtues together can’t be diluted, no matter how the storms of life may try to wash them away.  I thank God that Jesus, like our many other heroes, was Man enough to give His all for us, and I pray that neither His sacrifice nor theirs will ever prove to be in vain.

I’ll close with a verse from “America, the Beautiful” that I think serves as a fitting prayer during this time of year:

O beautiful for heroes proved

In liberating strife,

Who more than self their country loved

And mercy more than life!

America, America,

May God thy gold refine,

Till all success be nobleness

And every gain divine!

Have a safe and happy Fourth of July!  Chappy will return next month with his usual wit and wisdom.

Elisabeth G. Wolfe

chappysdaughter@hotmail.com