Today is July 4–the day America became an independent country. Fifty-six men agreed to break away from England and become the United States of America–“one nation under God.”
Since the signing of the Declaration, America has fallen away from her Christian heritage. It saddens me to read the news and see how far away we are from God’s law.
Have you ever felt that you are an outside observer numbly watching the news and wondering how these things can be happening?
In some ways, we are. I live in America, but my citizenship is not in America. Philippians 3:20–For our citizenship is in heaven, from which we also eagerly wait for the Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ. In our Bible Bee Sword Study, we were told to read the book of 1 Peter as if it was written to us. Who were the real recipients? The Dispersion...the pilgrims, aliens, wanderers...the “poor wayfaring stranger,” as the old gospel song goes. If you’re a wanderer, are you at home? Jesus said that His kingdom is not of this world (John 18:36). My American citizenship is temporal and lasts only as long as I live in America, but my citizenship in Christ’s kingdom is eternal.
Today we celebrate the liberty of our country. Why not use today to celebrate our liberty in Christ? Galatians 5:13 says that we have been called to liberty. We are free from sin–isn’t that amazing? We have been freed from sin, and now we serve our King! Even in a “free” country, we still have to obey some form of government. No earthly government is perfect, but our King is perfect. It is a joy to serve Him!
Jesus taught us to pray to the Father “Your kingdom come” (Matthew 6:10). Revelation 12:10 says, Then I heard a loud voice saying in heaven, “Now salvation, and strength, and the kingdom of our God, and the power of His Christ have come, for the accuser of our brethren, who accused them before our God day and night, has been cast down." We eagerly wait for the day when His kingdom will come...and we know it will!
God forbid that I should boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world (Galatians 6:14). On Independence Day, we look back and celebrate the good our country has accomplished–I am proud to be an American! But my identity and true pride do not lie in being an American; rather, they are in Christ. The world is nothing to me, because I am not a citizen of it. We boast in the name of Christ.
I am proud to be called by His name. I am proud to be a Christian.
Thank you so much for this post! In the past, my priorities have often gotten mixed up, but now I see clearly that the true way to abundant, eternal life lies in no earthly thing, but only in Christ Jesus. If we rely on this world, we will only be disappointed, but if we rely on Christ, we will not be moved. He is the firm foundation on which individual lives, nations, and governments ought to be built - but yet we have all fallen astray, and no matter how well we do, we cannot deny that all peoples have fallen. Let us strive forward to the eternal prize, and use the many abundant earthly blessings that God has given us for his glory. We have so many things, possessions and earthly blessings that other nations on this earth lack. Let us surrender them to Christ's kingdom and make His priorities our priorities. If only America would surrender herself to Christ, we could become, once again, a powerful force for good in this world.
ReplyDeleteThanks for commenting! I'm glad you liked the post!
ReplyDeleteAbout a year or so ago, I finally started to understand what it means to seek joy in Jesus. Too often, I fell into the trap of thinking that this thing or that event or something else would make me happy. Then, the truth of Psalm 16:11 became real to me: God gives us life and joy. Nothing on earth will ever satisfy us. We need God.
I completely agree with you! America must surrender to Christ in order for her to go back to where she once was!