How did you celebrate America’s birthday? Our Independence Day (July Fourth) has been celebrated for over two centuries as our nation’s birthday. John Adams, the second president of our country, predicted it would be a wonderful holiday. “I believe that it will be celebrated by succeeding generations as the great anniversary festival,” he wrote his wife, Abigail. “It ought to be celebrated by pomp and parade, with shows, games, sports, guns, bells, bonfires, and illuminations from one end of this continent to the other…” We’re doing those things, but I think we should do more to celebrate.
There are two other things that are usually included in a birthday celebration. We often remember their birth and their achievements.Those things are often neglected in our country’s birthday celebrations, though. There are a lot of true stories about how God miraculously helped our country begin. Our children cannot be proud of our country if we don’t tell them about the good things America has done and the wonderful things God has done for us. Because there is a strong bias against God, our children are in danger of forgetting that our country was founded by Christians as a place where Christian values could flourish. (For those of you who are not Christians, one of those values is political tolerance for all religions.) I have enjoyed reading through many quotes by our presidents and founding fathers that illustrated their reliance on God and their reverence for Him. There isn’t room to share even the best of those quotes with you in this article. [You can find them at http://goo.gl/vfSuzi on the web, though.] Here is one of my favorites. You may be familiar with the end of this quote by Patrick Henry of the Constitutional Convention. I was, but I hadn’t realized the important truths that came before it: “It cannot be emphasized too strongly or too often that this great nation was founded not by religionists but by Christians, not on religion but on the Gospel of Jesus Christ. We shall not fight alone. God presides over the destinies of nations. The battle is not to the strong alone. Is life so dear, or peace so sweet, as to be purchased at the price of chains and slavery? Forbid it, ALMIGHTY GOD! Give me liberty or give me death!” We need to remember all the ways God has blessed our nation, and we need to give thanks to Him. Benjamin Franklin, one of Philadelphia’s favorite sons, said: “I have lived, sir, a long time, and the longer I live, the more convincing proofs I see of this truth — God Governs in the affairs of men, and if a sparrow cannot fall to the ground without His notice, is it possible that an empire can rise without His aid?” Our economic prosperity, our military strength, and our abundant resources are all gifts from Almighty God. As we remember these things, we need to thank God, both privately and publicly. Many people look at the dangers in our world and worry about the future of our land, but the Bible tells us to, “Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication WITH THANKSGIVING let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all comprehension, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus (Philippians 4:6-7). Christians ought to celebrate our country’s birthday with thanksgiving for the past and with continued prayers that God’s blessings will not be taken away. We cannot forget where we came from. Our first president, George Washington, said, “It is impossible to rightly govern the world without God and the Bible” (September 17th, 1796). God’s purpose in history is: “That men may know from the rising to the setting of the sun That there is no one besides Me. I am the LORD, and there is no other, The One forming light and creating darkness, Causing well-being and creating calamity; I am the LORD who does all these” (Isa 45:6-7). Happy Birthday, America! Keep celebrating!
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