First Class Forever

As a loyal Philadelphian, I was more than a little pleased to see the design the U.S. Postal Service unveiled last week for its permanent stamp.  The cost of postage will continue to rise, I am sure, but this image will remain on our stamp in perpetuity: our own Liberty Bell.

I was intrigued by the optimism expressed on the stamp's text.  "First Class," it reads.  "Forever."  Forever, as they say, is a very long time.  I wonder: How long will the stamp really last?  And how long will the U.S. Postal Service last?  Decades?  Centuries? 

But maybe the text on the stamp has a different reference point.  After all, the Liberty Bell is so-called because it bears the text of Leviticus 25:10: "Proclaim liberty throughout the land to all the inhabitants thereof."  And that worthy text does proclaim a first-class status of sorts: freedom from servitude for all the people of God.  How long will that first-class status last?  "When the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed," or, we might say, "you will be free forever."