THE RED, THE WHITE, AND THE BLUE

By Peggy Still –

She was born as Betsy Griscom and was raised in a Quaker home in Philadelphia. She received a good education and also became a skilled seamstress. As a young adult, she was apprenticed to a sewing and upholstery shop. In that same upholstery shop, also working as an apprentice was a preacher’s son named John Ross. His father was the pastor at Philadelphia’s Christ Episcopal Church. The two began dating, and when Betsy was 21 she accepted John’s proposal of marriage.

But there was a problem. John was Episcopalian and Betsy a Quaker. In the 1700’s inter-denominational marriages were not approved. So one night John and Betsy rowed across the Delaware River under the cover of darkness to be secretly married in New Jersey. They settled down as faithful members of Christ Church, regularly sharing the same pew as another parishioner, George Washington.

John and Betsy opened their own upholstery shop, but with the Revolutionary War brewing John joined the militia. While guarding ammunition along the shores of the river the gunpowder exploded and John died shortly after. At just 23 years of age, Betsy was a war widow. Strong-willed and determined, she kept their upholstery business going.

Five months later Betsy received a secret visit by a committee from the Continental Congress. They had a rough drawing of a flag they had conceptualized for the new nation. Betsy studied it carefully and agreed to do the work. When she presented the flag to the committee they like it so well they ordered more, and more, and more. Betsy continued to make flags for the United States for the next fifty years. In the flag Betsy created the white represents purity, the red valor, and the blue stands for vigilance.

Looking at those same colors from a Biblical perspective one could say the red stands for the blood that was shed for the securing and protection of America’s freedom. In an eternal sense, the blood of Jesus secures and protects our spiritual freedom and everlasting life. White represents the cleansing of our sins spoken of in Isaiah 1:18, though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow. That brings us to the third color—blue, the color of the firmament above us representing the promise and the assurance of heaven.

Taking our stand under the banner of the red, white and blue this Independence Day we can claim the protection of Jesus’ blood for our country, seek forgiveness for the sins of our nation, and look heavenward to the promise of the City on the Hill that will reign forever in glory.