The IM Writers Association. We aim to create a community of writers who share a common faith and passion for writing that advances the Life of Jesus Christ. #19 The American FlagDr. Stephen Phinney: As we gaze upon the American flag, let us remember: the flag originally contained the Cross of Jesus Christ.
“When we honor our flag, we honor what we stand for as a nation—freedom, equality, justice, and hope.” — Ronald ReaganIn the turbulent corridors of American history, where voices of valor and freedom intertwine, there exists a ghostly courage, adventure, and hope of a desperate new nation. These whispering Saints spilt their red blood on the new land of blue skies, clothed in the white garments of eternal sanctions, unfurled against azure winds of destiny, while bearing the weight of a nation’s dreams—the American flag. -PHINNEY
Bleeding Red, White, & Blue:In the quiet moments before dawn, when dew clings to blades of grass and the world stirs from slumber, I found myself staring at my father’s American flag that draped his coffin. I said to myself, “This is not merely a piece of cloth; it is the embodiment of a nation’s soul—an icon of my father’s loyalty to what stitched together threads of sacrifice.” Then I heard the whispers of my father’s words, “What color do your bleed?” As a pure bloodline patriot, I see more than stars and stripes. I see the sacrificed lives of the Saints of old who endeavored to honor God on Bunker Hill, where musket smoke mingled with courage founded in their faith in Christ. I can almost hear the whispered prayers of soldiers storming Normandy’s beaches, their boots sinking into blood-soaked sand. The flag each Saint and soldier carried witnessed the defiant resolve of suffragettes, the resilience of freedom fighters, and the tears shed on hallowed ground as their breath drained from their moral bodies. When I look at my father’s flag, I see a living entity—an eternal flame that flickers through history. It is a bold reminder of the blood-stained parchment of the Declaration of Independence, the parchment-yellowed United States Constitution, and the blood stains of forgotten freedom-fighters. To this old patriot, it is the heartbeat of a nation—a rhythm that quickens during adversity and swells with hope in the God We Trust. My father spoke little of the three wars he fought. However, the few he spoke, I listened intently. On one occasion he reminded me that soldiers fight for two reasons - God and country. Today, I get that. When the storms of battle gather, the patriot clings to the flag and God. Its stars of independent states guide them through temptations of doubt, and its stripes remind them that freedom is etched in the sacrifice of the thirteen colonies. Thanks to my father and his forefathers, I know that liberty is not a passive inheritance; it is a flame to be tended, a torch held high, a legacy to be defended, and a reminder of eternal sovereignty. As a patriot, I don’t see perfection; I see past sacrifices and future possibilities. I see fifty stars, each representing a state—a constellation of respected entities. I see thirteen stripes, like scars of sacrifice, reminding me that unity is forged in struggle. When the winds whip Old Glory, I stand a little taller. I honor the fallen, salute the living, and pledge allegiance not to a government but to an eternal doctrine—an audacious claim of a righteous God.In the grand amphitheater of global history, the American flag unfurls—a beacon for patriots, a refuge for the weary, a hope in an eternal God, and a reminder of loyalty and sacrifice. When the flag on my front porch is battling the winds, I hear the ghostly plight, “We are still here.” I hear the voices of my forefathers, loved ones, and friends who died for her. As a Biblical patriot, I boldly stand resolute, with hand over heart, whispering back, “So am I.” Yet, the masses are burning her - defamation of the memory of her sacrifice. HONORING HER HISTORY:This flag, which we honor and under which we serve, is the emblem of our unity, our power, our thought and purpose as a nation. It has no other character than that which we give it from generation to generation. The choices are ours. -President Woodrow Wilson Picture a frost-kissed morning in December 1775. The air crackles with anticipation as Lieutenant John Paul Jones stands on the deck of the Alfred, a ship slicing through the icy waters of the Delaware River. His eyes fixate on a new standard fluttering determination—a harbinger of revolution. This is the Grand Union Flag, a precursor to the Stars and Stripes.
Thirteen stripes, crimson and ivory, ripple like the tides of change within America’s colonies. And in the canton, an inspiration of blue rectangle cradles the Cross of Christ, now the Union of its states—the emblem of a fractured allegiance. It shouts of unity yet yearns for independence. The Grand Union Flag dances, caught between loyalty and rebellion. Sadly, by removing her Cross, pluralism was born. Removing The CrossThe year is 1776, the quills of reformers scratch across parchment. The Second Continental Congress debates the future - is the nation based on the Cross of Christ? Amid the fervor of liberty, they removed the Cross and made a decree: “Resolved, that the flag of the United States be thirteen stripes, alternate red and white; that the union be thirteen stars, white in a blue field representing a new constellation.”
And so, the Stars and Stripes emerge—a visionary map stitched onto fabric. Fifty stars, like independent beacons, guide a fledgling nation. Each star represents a state, a constellation of self-governance. The thirteen stripes remind the states of their forefathers’ colonialization. As for the Cross of Christ, it faded into American history. Her Tumultuous JourneyThrough wars and rumors of wars, the flag endures. It flutters over battlefields where musket smoke mingled with courage and threats of nuclear holocaust darkens the horizon. It drapes the coffins of fallen heroes, bearing witness to their valor. It waves triumph at Gettysburg, Normandy, and Iwo Jima—a silent anthem of resilient victory. In the dawn of early patriots, seamstresses stitched stars with trembling hands. They breathed history into every thread, each star embedding secrets into the fabric. The flag becomes a living entity—an embodiment of hope, resilience, and the secret memory of the audacity to remove the Cross from its founding. The 50-Star CelebrationThe 48-star flag, weathered by time, yields to progress. Eisenhower’s pen traces the 49th star, and then the 50th. The 50-star flag emerges—a independent quilt of unity. Alaska and Hawaii join the flag, their stars harmonizing with the original mission of the thirteen colonies. And so, Old Glory—a once symphony of stars and stripes—weaving its way into our hearts of loyalists, and today for some, is nothing more than a symbol of tyranny and abuse of power. It flutters over fewer schoolyards, Main Streets, and days of celebration. It has become an object of bonfires, a statement of defiance. Her whisper of “We are one,” is quickly fading into the dusk of American history. My Eternal UnfurlingToday, the American flag dances in the breeze on my porch, its fabric etched with stories of my father and the generations before him. It knows the taste of hate from those who drive by and the warmth of loyalists who salute her services. As for me and my house, and the flag on our porch, well, we remember the witness of tears of joy and sorrows of sacrifice, revolutions of truth and reconciliations of those that defend her. Dad, I can answer that question now. I bleed red, white, and blue.As we gaze upon the American flag, let us remember: the flag originally contained the Cross of Jesus Christ. I know pluralists removed His symbol of freedom; however, picture that old, rugged Cross each time you cast your eyes upon her colors. Originally, she was more than cloth and pigment - she was the passion for a newfound land to honor and serve the Person of the power of the Cross. Today, it is the embodiment of a nation’s resilience—a testament to forgotten meanings, but yet modern patriotism. I’m OK with taking the time and effort of stitching together our past, present, and the unwritten chapters of our future by forgiving those that propagated the removal of her original splendor of the purpose of the Cross. June is flag month for Lady of Liberty, let her ripple, let her soar—as a beacon for the founders who sacrificed everything they had for Life in Christ, and liberty to all those who remain in bondage. Let her do her job - be a refuge for the weary and a passage way to the Cross. Stand at attention the next time you see her and whisper to her, “I am still here.”Dr. Stephen Phinney
Identity Politics | Co-writer: Judge Mark T. Boonstra IM Writers Association is a collective group of Christian writers who support the advancement of the Gospel of Jesus Christ while sustaining an eschatological view of the Holy Scriptures of God.
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