Today marks the 247th birthday of this great nation! I can remember July 4, 1976, in Wichita, Kansas, when our family joined other families in commemorating this special day with an all-day preaching and dinner-on-the grounds service. We so enjoyed that day, and though the 200-year-old nation then was (and is) fraught with problems, we were proud to be Americans and were gathering together to seek God’s blessings and intervening grace. We could not have imagined what America would look like 47 years from that two hundredth birthday. We have mountainous problems, of course, but we have a noble heritage of liberty and justice—and, by God’s grace, we still have freedom of worship, speech, and assembly, though all of these freedoms seem more fragile today than in 1976.
We could never begin to give God adequate praise for the bounty of His blessings. We owe an incalculable debt of gratitude to our forefathers for their wealth of wisdom in establishing this democratic republic that has weathered world wars and a soul-wrenching civil war in its short, 247-year history. We are deeply grateful for the precious blood shed and for the ultimate sacrifice of life made by more than a million people while serving honorably in the armed forces of our nation. Because of their sacrifice, we can still raise “Old Glory” and pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America—one nation, under God, indivisible!
To be sure, fierce foes of liberty are firing their volleys of subversion at this old ship of state. Under the guise of “diversity,” some would banish God from our public forums. We are now asked not to pray to a specific God, and certainly not to invoke His blessings in the name of His Son, Jesus Christ, for fear that we might offend the unbelievers.
We dare not surrender this sacred ground to atheism. The best and bravest of our youth gave up their dreams, fortunes, and futures in the defense of this nation, whose God is the Lord.
We unquestionably would die to grant anyone the freedom to deny that our God exists, and to refuse to call upon His name. But do not ask us to give up that precious, life-giving privilege of prayer and practicing faith to accommodate your atheism. Our fathers, sons, and daughters have died for your right to choose unbelief, so we will never surrender our belief for fear of offending you when we call upon the Lord God by His holy name.
That’s America. And, yes, we have become a melting pot, and we are a diversified people, having come from the four corners of the earth to get here. But one thread has held us together for nearly 250 years: our common dependence upon, and belief in, a God who blesses the nation that fears and honors Him.
Long live America. Long live our freedom. And long live the bastion of liberty in this land, where peoples from every part of the world have come to work and worship, to live and love, and to breathe fresh air.
I hope this Day of Independence proves to be a very special day for each and every citizen of this great country. May we look back with thanksgiving for God’s special grace to us. May we look ahead with hope and aspirations for a future hinged upon the limitless promises of His Word to those who honor Him. May we never be ashamed to pray to Him, to acknowledge Him, to confess Him in public and in private. God bless America—today and always.
Food for thought. Pulitzer Prize winning author David McCullough, in his book 1776, though never mentioning God in that massive work on the War of Independence, could not close without a subtle but sure acknowledgement of His hand at work on behalf of the Revolutionaries. He closes with these words: “Especially for those who had been with Washington and who knew what a close call it was from the beginning—how often circumstances, storms, contrary winds—the oddities or strengths of individual character—had made the difference. The outcome seemed little short of a miracle.”
Thank you David McCullough! And, miracle it was! Happy 4th of July!
“Happy is that people, that is in such a case: yea, happy is that people, whose God is the LORD.”
(Ps. 144:15)
YOU and GOD 