Dear Trekker,
Independence Day, July 4, 1776, an event we annually commemorate, has come and gone… again! The fireworks residue falling swiftly back to the ground is a metaphor for the ominous trend in our nation. As I viewed them this year at Falcon Stadium, home of the Air Force Academy football team, with a backdrop of America’s mountain, Pikes Peak, I could not help but regret the devolution of our nation’s heritage 235 years later. I am not particularly encouraged.
In our Declaration of Independence, our founders, committed theists virtually all, said: “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 – That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed. (Italics mine.) As I approach my 77th birthday shortly, I am intrigued as I ponder: In our culture today truth is relative; hence “it” is objectively not true, only useful for the times. Because there is no truth, nothing can be self-evident; what I believe is purely my opinion. Goodness, remember I am not created by a Supreme Being! I have evolved from a primordial mass! Yet, happiness remains my right, not my pursuit. And it is government’s responsibility to make me happy. And anything the government wishes to do to make me happy is absolutely social justice. It is government’s inherent responsibility to do so.
Reality hurts, doesn’t it? We have forgotten a lot of things, most notably our national will which decreed long ago “in God we trust”. But stark reality produces varied reactions in citizens. Some are sobered while others are lulled into listless sleep. For sure, Abraham Lincoln said it well, quoting the Christ (Matthew 12:25) which he was prone often to do, “a house divided against itself will not stand.” Of course, he was speaking of our nation, relatively half slave and half free states. It was true then, and hence the Civil War to preserve the Union, and it is a truth today, I am certain. So many things present in the 21st century suggest the nails in our nation’s coffin!
How do Christians respond? One often popular response is to quote Scripture as proof that “if My people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven and will forgive their sins and will heal their land.” (II Chronicles 7:14, Old Testament). Nevermind all the disconnects between Solomon’s day in building the temple for the Hebrew nation and hundreds of years later in a nation known as the United States of America. Yet…we citizens of America are not “His people” as were the chosen nation of Israel. Even if we were, what a false expectation of faith in the 21st century. America is not the “messiah” of all mankind. There is only one Creator and Savior/Messiah… and we individually or collectively are not the ONE! It is not obvious where, or if, the United States of America is indeed in Scripture at all.
Trekker, if we identify with Christ, we must believe in God’s overriding providence. God is in charge, and outcomes are in His control to honor His purposes. The Apostle Paul said it well: “God works in everything for good to them that love Him and are called according to His purpose.” (Romans 8:20) Paul also summarized our earthly life well on Mars Hill in Athens: “The God who made the world and everything in it, being Lord of heaven and earth… gives to all men life and breath and everything… made every nation of men to live on all the face of the earth, having determined their allotted periods and the boundaries of their habitation… (Acts 17:24-28).
America was formed largely by European peoples who believed in God and the right of self-determination. They wisely separated the function of the church and state. But is our form of government going to last indefinitely? Since none has in world history, the burden of proof is upon us if we think so. Should we fight to keep what we believe in… of course! But our expectations as U.S. citizen Christians must be realistic and well formed. We should not see the world through rose colored glasses or interpret God’s story in Scripture to fit our view of the world, our country or our generation. That is folly indeed.
But all is not lost! Broad strokes in Scripture are always applicable to every generation and people. God created us all “so that men would seek Him and perhaps reach out for Him and find Him, though He is not far from each one of us.” (Acts 17:27) Returning to the Chronicles of the Old Testament… mankind is always called to humble itself and, individually, not think more highly of themselves than they ought; we are always called to pray and return to our Maker and Savior; we are always called to Him (Jesus the Christ) and to repent of our wicked ways, i.e. “turning every one of us to our own way” as Isaiah said so succinctly. The Christ is “not very far away.” And He alone knows the table of time.
Trekker, what will be the outcome for us, as we do so? Forgiveness, empowerment, joy, hope and peace within and with others! Saving of our blessed nation… probably not! God came near to save people, His Body, His Church… not nations and their forms of government. Even His chosen people, the Jews, were the means, not the end, of His saving us all in Christ.
Trekker, the backdrop of earthly celebrations must always be the grace of a benevolent loving God. He holds the world in His hands! Only in His embrace is there security. The future of America… it will go the way of all flesh. The trash heap of history is quite high. Could it be any other way?
Loving my country but seeking to think clearly, your friend,
Jim Meredith