As we prepare to celebrate America’s independence, I hope that we all take the time to really appreciate this great nation. I hope we meditate and say a prayer of thanksgiving to a benevolent God that has allowed us to experience America.
Our country has not always done what is right. As the issue of race is on everyone’s mind right now, people point to the past and the racism that has existed in this country. It can cause us to think that this land is evil. But slavery and racism existed in spite of America, not because of her.
The reason slavery would eventually go away is because the second sentence of this countries Declaration of Independence was, “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.” People in the 1700's may not have got the application completely right, but they sure did get the principal right. They didn’t know that it extended to slaves when they wrote it, but they still knew it was truth. And that same truth would ultimately set those slaves free.
America has been a friend of the church of Christ. We can’t even imagine living in a place like China where the government will charge into a home and beat people just for worshiping. We can’t understand living in a place where extremists will literally saw your head off for preaching the gospel. We live in America. The country that said, “first off, you can go to church, and our laws will protect that”. Not only did they want to protect our worship, but they wanted to protect our ability to share the Gospel! Then people I never met, thought that me being able to worship freely was worth dying for. Thank God!
It was in this country and with this freedom that men were able to study the scripture truthfully and openly, and come to the conclusion that they were not doing what the Bible said. Without fear of persecution, these people were able to preach the Old Jerusalem Gospel. They were able to renounce all creeds and denominational affiliations and just be Christians. They could speak where the Bible speaks and be silent where the Bible was silent. They were able to restore the church that Jesus built.
What would the church of Christ look like without the blessing of America? Thank God.
For about 250 years this country has been blessed with prosperity. Because of that prosperity, the church of Christ has been able to aid people all around the world. We have built hospitals and orphan homes in other countries. More importantly, we have been able to send people all throughout the world to share the gospel. We have preaching schools throughout the world that are sending young men into the bush and jungles and right now are preaching the gospel. They can do this because an American missionary was able to collect funds from American Christians to go do a work in another part of the world. Thank God!
Is America perfect? Absolutely not. But how in the world can I be a Christian, and not appreciate the friend that America has been to the cause of Christ.
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