May God bless America on this 250th anniversary of the declaration of independence and guide us for many more centuries to come!

I was delayed in writing this week’s post because I wanted to incorporate something about this auspicious commemoration of the founding of the country. I kept turning over in my head thoughts of freedom and liberty, but nothing seemed to really jump out to me. Finally, on this special day itself, the scripture passage that came to me was:

“As for me and my household, we will serve the LORD.”
(Jos 24:15)

As I researched this passage from Joshua, it is when the Israelites made it into the Promised Land and conquered those living there. Joshua assembled the people and gave a recap of all that God had done for them, starting with Abraham. He then warned them about choosing which deity they will worship, one from their surrounding neighbors or the Lord God. The people respond in full agreement they would serve the Lord and follow all His commandments. This stirred my memory for when Moses did something similar before the people entered the Promise Land. Just before Joshua is commissioned to lead the Israelites and Moses dies, Moses issued the following to the people:

“I have set before you life and death, the blessing and the curse. Choose life, then, that you and your descendants may live, by loving the LORD, your God, obeying his voice, and holding fast to him.”
(Deut 30:19-20)

While historians claim Thomas Jefferson, the drafter of the Declaration of Independence, was not a Christian, he did at least believe in God. In the famous and often recited preamble to the founding document, it states, “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.” Regardless of the religious denomination, Jefferson and all the signers all acknowledged God and His gift of freewill in the form of liberty. I would like to think it was purposeful that the founders placed the country under the protection and guidance of God with these words. Just as Moses reminded the Israelites to choose God and His will prior to battles for the Promised Land, the Declaration served as a call to arms for all the colonists in 1776, reminding them of God and the liberty He gave them to choose.

Our founding documents are rich in references to the scriptures and there can be no argument that the United States was founded as a Christian nation. Each generation of Americans must ask themselves the same question that Joshua asked the people: who will you serve? While the United States does not claim one particular religious denomination and allows all people to choose which church they will support, we are meant to be a moral people adhering to the basic laws of God. Our consciences are to be formed by our faith. When we serve God and do His will, we will naturally create a community, a state, and a nation that supports our fellow countrymen. When we are selfish and choose our own will, then we turn away from not just God, but our neighbor as well.

This great experiment of government by the people has lasted 250 years. It has been far from perfect, but that is a natural reflection of the imperfection of humanity itself. As we look forward to the next 250 years, let us remember that freedom is not free, as it is paid for by each war we fight to keep it so, and the liberty that God gives us is to seek to do His will in all parts of our lives: spiritually, socially, and civically. Let us choose Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of God!