It’s almost Independence Day in the USA!  We will have a great celebration of the birth of the Nation and all things patriotic. 

The Confession of Faith of the Evangelical United Brethren Church one of two printed in our discipline that came from the churches combined in 1968 to form the United Methodist Church in Article XVI on the Civil Government states: “We believe civil government derives its just powers from the sovereign God. As Christians we recognize the governments under whose protection we reside and believe such governments should be based on, and be responsible for, the recognition of human rights under God. We believe war and bloodshed are contrary to the gospel and spirit of Christ. We believe it is the duty of Christian citizens to give moral strength and purpose to their respective governments through sober, righteous and godly living.”

I remember standing on the side of Highway 51 outside of Henning, TN in 1976 to see replicas of the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution in an 18-wheeler that stopped at the rest area.  There was also a Freedom Train that toured the USA making stops in Memphis, TN in April 1976 and then in Greensboro, Charlotte, and Raleigh in October.  The train itself consisted of 10 display cars, converted from New York Central and Penn Central baggage cars. They carried more than 500 treasures of Americana, including George Washington's copy of the Constitution, the original Louisiana Purchase, Judy Garland's dress from The Wizard of Oz, Joe Frazier's boxing trunks, Martin Luther King Jr.'s pulpit and robes, replicas of Jesse Owens's four Olympic gold medals from 1936 (one of which was stolen somewhere along the way), a pair of Wilt Chamberlain's basketball shoes, and a rock from the Moon.

Its tour of all 48 contiguous states lasted from April 1, 1975, until December 31, 1976. More than 7 million Americans visited the train during its tour, while millions more stood trackside to see it go by.

All this is to say that as we celebrate the birth of our nation there is great pride!  That pride however needs to be tempered with humility before God.  I encourage you to read the Declaration of Independence out loud as a part of your celebrations wherever they are held as well as the preamble to the constitution both of which acknowledge that our freedoms and responsibilities as citizens of this great nation derive from the gracious gifts of God Almighty.  While our freedoms were claimed with the blood of our forefathers and insured by the sacrifices of our men and women in uniform over these centuries, for which we are overwhelmingly grateful, we humbly acknowledge that they are given to all mankind by our creator and God. 

So, celebrate the freedoms endowed upon us by God, and pray to him a prayer of thanks to those who sacrificed to see that we can express them in our nation!  Then offer a prayer for those who are this day oppressed in nations across the globe in lands where freedom has not gained the upper hand or live in nations racked with war as they defend their freedoms and sovereignty. 

May God renew His blessings to us and to this great land and may we be worthy of them.

Peace,

Pastor Burt

Link to the Declaration of Independence    https://www.archives.gov/founding-docs/declaration-transcript

Link to The Preamble to The Constitution and The Constitution   https://constitution.congress.gov/constitution/