Myers

In 1976, I was seven years old when America celebrated its 200th birthday. With the 4th of July celebration that year, the country was ramped up to celebrate bigger than ever. As a kid I was especially excited to see the parade, as there were supposed to be several special entrees supported by local businesses.

Our family was always fortunate in watching the 4th of July parade, as my aunt and uncle lived in town on a corner lot, and they would save spots for us to join them and their family to take in the celebration.

As a seven year old, I didn’t need a chair to sit in myself. I wanted to be right on the curb, so when candy started to be thrown, I would be available to pounce on it. As the floats would go by, I remember racing back and forth, dodging other kids who also wanted their own stash to take home.

Growing up in a small farming community in the thumb, many of the entrees featured farm tractors pulling floats or wagons with displays. I remember people walking around with shiny red, white, and blue top hats, as well as wearing red, white, and blue vests. I was completely amazed that someone dressed up like Uncle Sam and walked around on stilts. The high school marching band provided the crescendo to the parade as they were always near the end and would march through playing patriotic songs that made you tap your toes.

I’m sure there are many things I’ve left out, but what I mostly remember from that day is the feeling of pride and a shared sense of community – both with family and neighbors. Just like any other time period, our community didn’t always agree on everything, but when it came to celebrating our country, we could rally together, understanding our shared history that we all possessed.

It was a common understanding that the faith of our Founding Fathers played an important role in achieving the blessings that we as a country lived and operated by – after all, 39% of the Declaration of Independence came from scriptural references in the Bible.

And as a side note here, one of the neatest Bible projects I’ve seen comes in the form of the Founder’s Bible. A group of historians put a Bible together, showing how specific passages from the Bible came into play with specific leaders in our country at critical times of our nation’s history. As you read this Bible from Genesis to Revelation, behind the scenes stories are shared along the way of how our past leaders used specific passages from the Bible to help guide them in their decision making. It’s fascinating to see how God’s word was used to help our country’s leaders advance the country.

But, today, as we celebrate our 250th anniversary, the sentiment surrounding this celebration seems convoluted and divided with some not even wanting to celebrate at all. Many in this camp focus on pointing out the flaws of our nation and ask leading questions without providing solutions or answers.

Asking questions is fine, as is healthy debate, but we are not unique or more enlightened than people of past ages. We need to press in further to find answers to these questions, and like our Founding Fathers, leaning into scripture to seek God’s leading for us simply seems wise.

There is no doubt that we’ve had our problems as a nation, but there’s also no doubt that we’ve been able to help people across this world unlike any other nation before us – and that’s worth celebrating.

The nation is a representation of us, the people. Each and every one of us is flawed. Each of us has a sinful nature to the core, but we also, through God’s grace and mercy are able to do great things of enduring impact. Instead of pointing fingers at other people and blaming them for our problems, each of us needs to do some introspection and look at ourselves.

You see, as Believers in Christ, we are citizens of two kingdoms. The one we are living in – the United States of America, and God’s eternal kingdom. They are not separate entities, but one in the same. Christians are supposed to be involved in all aspects of culture and be salt and light, preserving and protecting all that God has established. The future of our nation depends on Christians taking their place in the public sector and acting on the faith that they know to be true from God’s word – just like our Founding Fathers sought counsel from the Bible.

I have a seven year old grandson who this week will be celebrating the 250th anniversary of this great nation. I wonder when he’s 56, like me, what he will remember from this year’s celebration. Will he know that God has made us to be a city on a hill? Will he remember acts of faith from strong Christian leadership?

The future he will eventually remember will be up to what we do today as citizens to act on behalf of our dual citizenship.