Today is the 4th of July...America's Independence Day...the day we celebrate our freedom as a nation. As one studies the history of America, we can only shake our heads in astonishment and wonder at the blessings that have been bestowed on this nation. At no other time in history has a nation had such wealth and prosperity. At no other time in history has a nation's individuals had so much freedom to live their lives the way they choose. At no other time in history have a people been given so many opportunities to succeed in whatever they choose to do with their lives.
We have been truly blessed by the hand of God as a nation! That blessing came, in part, because we, as a nation, acknowledged our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, from the beginning. Some of the first settlers, the Pilgrims, were known for their devotion to the Lord and their dependence on Him. They had every intention of spreading the Good News throughout the new land.
Puritan John Winthrop's 1630 sermon "A Model of Christian Charity," given while he and his companions were still aboard the ship Arbella, admonished the future Massachusetts Bay colonists that their new community would be a "city upon a hill," watched by the world:
"For we must consider that we shall be as a city upon a hill. The eyes of all people are upon us. So that if we shall deal falsely with our God in this work we have undertaken... we shall be made a story and a by-word throughout the world. We shall open the mouths of enemies to speak evil of the ways of God... We shall shame the faces of many of God's worthy servants, and cause their prayers to be turned into curses upon us til we be consumed out of the good land whither we are a-going."
Much more can be said about the history of our nation and how God's hand has been intimately involved in all of its affairs.
Instead, may we focus on what we are to do with that blessing. The Bible, in Gen. 12:1-2 and Matthew 25:14-30, as well as other passages, communicates the idea that if we are blessed, than we are to be a blessing to others. And throughout its history, America has often been a blessing to others, (WWI and WWII, leading the way in mission sending throughout world, rebuilding of Germany and Japan - our enemies, etc.).
Now, however, America is faced with major internal problems. Our morality is deteriorating and many are losing hope in the future of this nation. Will God still continue to bless us or will we crumble, as all other great empires of the world? The answer to that lies, to a large extent, in our hands. Throughout the Bible, God has made it very clear that when a wayward nation returns to Him, in repentance, He will bless it. He did that many times for Israel and He has done it numerous times for America as well (ref. the Great Awakenings we have had in our nation).
Contrary to what many believe, though, the focus must not be inward. We still have incredible blessings. We must use those to bless the nations. On this Independence Day, we, as Christians, must not rejoice in our own security, while millions are perishing for lack of knowledge of the only way that they can be truly saved...through Jesus Christ. We must take the next step. We, as the Christian Church in America, must allow God to break our hearts for the nations that do not know Him. If our hearts were broken for the lost, we would then do all that we could to share the Gospel with them.
If we were standing in the safety of a boat while people were drowning all around us...would we leave the safety of our boat to rescue them or would we shut our eyes to the drowning and talk amongst ourselves about how blessed we are to have a boat? In many ways, although we have many internal problems, being an American Christian is still one of the greatest blessings God can bestow upon us. But what are we doing with that blessing? I pray that the Church will get out of the boat and rescue the lost! May it begin with me.
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