Friday; July 3

On July 4, 1776 a group of people in Philadelphia read a document that stated they would no longer submit themselves to European control.  They believed that they had the ability to govern themselves in a better way so they declared themselves independent from the British government.  As they signed their names, they pledged that they represented the will of the people to make this choice.  It was the beginning of a way of life that – in good times and in bad – has existed for the past two centuries.
This time of year I like to reread the Declaration of Independence and, when I do, I typically find something new or see things in a different way than I have in the past.  This year, as I read the document, I was drawn to some verbiage from the last paragraph in which they were “appealing to the Supreme Judge of the world” and did so “with a firm reliance on the protection of divine Providence”.   For years, I have understood the founding father’s belief that the rights they asserted were moral and maybe even spiritual; but as I thought about this passage I realized that they were also calling on God to judge their motives.  They believed they were doing what was correct and asserted that they had Divine protection as they did them.
I will leave each one of you to judge the motives of these men, but I would like to call upon all of us have a similar spirit in 2020.   As we enact today’s laws, as we interact with our neighbors, as we define modern morays I ask that we appeal to God to judge our actions and our motives.  It doesn’t really matter to me whether historians judge us worthy or even if society supports what we do, the thing that concerns me more than anything is whether God approves of the direction we are heading.  Is He pleased with the governmental legislation, the social relations and the moral justice we are pursing today?  In other words, are we standing for what is right in His sight?
Let’s enjoy another national birthday this weekend.  Then, as we get back to work next week, let’s assess our success through God’s view of what it means to be one nation under God.
Think About It!

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