Could I Be More Grateful – Paying the Full Measure!
I hope you don’t see this installment of the 52 Week Plan as a lecture on how we should be appreciative for the country in which we live. This is simply an account of what God has been showing me personally about having deep gratitude for so much He has given, especially my country. Mostly, I want to show gratitude for our country to our God Who obviously carried the victory of a small rag-tag revolutionary army over one of the largest, best trained military forces in the world at that time. Twenty-five thousand soldiers paid the full measure of devotion. Founding Fathers risked “their lives, their fortunes, their sacred honor”.
Some prominent, very vocal people today seem to think our nation is purely evil. They would be wrong. Colonists started out rebelling against what they considered unjust rule and mistreatment by the British forces under the King George III. The Declaration of Independence lists several grievances from which they were asking for relief. After the American Revolution the Constitution of the United States of America was crafted and ratified becoming the governing law of the land. The Bill of Rights (the first 10 of 27 amendments) spells out some of the rights originally guaranteed to the citizens of our country. As we know, injustices were identified, dispelled, and replaced with freedom and rights for more over time, groups of people in our country were identified who had not fully known the freedoms enumerated in the Constitution; namely, black people and women. Most of us wish those freedoms had been established at the beginning of the country, but sadly they were not.
Wars were fought, freedoms were extended, and amendments were made to help the USA become a “more perfect union”. It was not perfect, and it still isn’t, but we have made such great progress over the years. I have also learned that freedom isn’t free knowing that 620,000 soldiers died in the Civil War to end slavery in our nation. In WW II over 405,000 US soldiers died to keep Europe, Asia, and Africa and our own nation from being overrun by Adolf Hitler’s war machine. The war Hitler unleashed on the world took a toll of, approximately 73 million lives – 24 million military; 49 million civilians. No, my friend, never forget that freedom isn’t free. Sometimes wars must be waged to stop tyrants from accomplishing their evil visions.
I actually believe that freedom is a human drive regardless of race, religion, creed, class, or nationality. We all want to be free to make the important decisions in life that affect our own future. There has been no other nation that I can find on any continent in any time period founded as the USA was founded-of the people, by the people, for the people. Because our founding fathers for the most part believed in God and that God rules over mankind, those principles undergirded both the Declaration of Independence and the US Constitution. Starting even further back in history with the Mayflower Compact the early settlers of our country planned to be free and self-governing even in their smallest communities.
History recorded that as Benjamin Franklin emerged after the founders agreed on the Constitution, he was asked, “Doctor, what have you given us, a republic or a monarchy?” He is reported to have replied, ” We have give you a republic, if you can keep it.” Though other reports of this conversation vary slightly, Benjamin Franklin let the lady know that what had been crafted was a plan for a radically new, unique form of government that would take miracles to keep it from becoming something it was never intended to be. We are not a democracy (majority rule) but a nation of laws and principles set in place to keep in check the sin nature of those who govern and allow for progress to be made toward freedom for all. Only God and His Son Jesus through the miracle work of the Holy Spirit could institute and keep such a admittedly fragile nation. This nation would require an educated populace and one whose hearts are good. Other of our founders made those observations public.
“In order to form a more perfect union” is a key quote from the Preamble to the Constitution. The Founders never purported the Constitution to be a perfect document, it nonetheless established a system of governance that could be made more perfect by passing laws, representing the will of the people, and overcoming the sins and flaws of a new nation. Eventually, slavery was abolished, rights to vote were given to blacks and women, and other original problems were corrected.
My closing thoughts are these. We will remain free only to the extent that wise and godly leaders (you and I) recognize the brokenness of our nation and humbly come before God asking for forgiveness and mercy. We need God to extend grace to us now as He did to the founders who miraculously won a war and established a constitution against all odds. In my view and without His intervention into the events of men, we are in deep trouble as a nation. We have been and continue to see the freedoms of individuals being eroded. Rather that hate and slander our leaders, let’s pray for our leaders as we are commanded in scripture, and do all we can in our homes to “train up our children in the ways of God” and support freedom and biblical values wherever we see them threatened or needing re-enforcement.
1 Timothy 2:1-4: I urge, then, first of all, that petitions, prayers, intercession and thanksgiving be made for all people—2 for kings and all those in authority, that we may live peaceful and quiet lives in all godliness and holiness.3 This is good, and pleases God our Savior, 4 who wants all people to be saved and to come to a knowledge of the truth.
Freedoms are not free, are they? And even more significant than earthly, temporary freedom is the freedom we experience as followers of Jesus Christ. We, by His grace, are free now from the penalty of sin because we are destined for heaven because of Jesus, from the power of sin because we can overcome sin in our lives now, and eventually from the presence of sin in heaven for all eternity. A population led by Holy Spirit, loving God and others by His power will be that nation whose God is the Lord. We need Him to guide and control us. We need each other to be leaders at home and in our churches moving our nation and culture toward God not away from Him. Regardless of the form of government we live under, we can still be free in Christ to overcome the tests and trials of life. As Peter answered Christ, “Where else can we go? Who else has the Words of Life?” (John 6:68)