Happy Birthday, America!

Tomorrow is our country’s 248th birthday. And she doesn’t look a day over 30… depending on where you look. You may or may not be aware, but patriotism is not as popular as it used to be. From one side of the spectrum there are those who refer to any type of patriotism as nationalism, or exceptionalism, and it is condemned. And from the other side there are those who say that any commitment or pledge made to our country or flag detracts from our worship of the one true God.

I have to say that I believe that both sides are mistaken. I certainly do not worship this country. We have our flaws. The nation was born with flaws, and they are easily seen. Still, there simply must be some reason that millions of people from other countries continue to come our way. They must see something beautiful and attractive that many of us seem to miss.

Our nation is not, nor has it ever been, a truly Christian nation. We are not “the people of God”. And yet, the freedoms espoused in our founding doctrines are not just good ideas. They are true. They are what Francis Shaeffer called, “true truth”. They are true all the time and for all people. “All men are created equal, and they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights.”

And for that we can be thankful. I’m proud to be an American. I am grateful to all of those who have put their lives on the line for our freedoms. I am thankful for the founding fathers, even with their flaws, who had a vision for a nation like the Untied States of America. here’s a question for you. What if we truly lived by those founding documents? Wouldn’t that be great?

And in the same way, what if believers in Jesus truly lived by the teachings of the Bible. What a difference we would make! Happy Birthday, America. And may God truly bless the USA.