
06 Jul Born in the USA
Happy Independence Day!
One Fourth of July when I was a little kid, my mom and dad (I’ll just throw them both under the bus) thought it would be cool to light sparklers and throw them back and forth across the yard like shooting stars. The problem was, it was dark, and yours truly picked one up by the wrong end. Burned the tar out of my hand. Seriously hot, throbbing hurt! Left a bad blister, but a funnyish story to talk about for the next 6 decades. Thankfully, that incident did not leave a bad memory in my mind or heart about the Fourth of July and celebrating Independence Day!
This land is your land, this land is my land.
I was born in the U.S.A. This country is the geographical location God specifically chose for me—before the foundation of the world. For most of my readers, America is where He determined that you, too, would live your lives. It could have been any of the 195 other countries in the world, but He chose America for you and me. And I’m glad that He did—I’m glad this land is where God planted you and me.
Though I know my true home is in heaven, I’m so very grateful that the U.S.A. is my temporary home on this earth. I love it here and I always have. I don’t like a lot of things that are currently going on in my country, but I still love this country—my country— with the kind of patriotic love that is fitting for one who finds herself in a land of so many opportunities, and freedom!
My love for country does not precede my love for my God.
It’s ok to love your country. There is nothing morally or biblically wrong with a patriotic love of one’s country. Patriotism—love for, devotion to, being proud of, and defending one’s country (Webster)—has gotten a bad rap over the past several years, while hating America and flag burning has become the norm. (Ironically, it’s a freedom unique to our country to even be allowed to express this hatred, given by our 1st Amendment for free speech.)
But here’s the real truth about patriotism—when we keep God at the center of our hearts and minds, we can love our country in the way He intended.
Jesus said that the greatest commandment is to, “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength. The second is this: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself. There is no commandment greater than these” (Mark12:30-31). Your nation is your neighbor—God intends for you to love the people and the place in which you live. As Jon Bloom wrote in his article for Desiring God, “In Jesus’s terms, we will only love our nation in the way that matters most to God to the degree that we love our neighbor out of the overflow of our love for, our treasuring, our delight in God.”
Something to Think About
Freedom is not to be taken lightly or for granted—but remember that our true freedom comes through Jesus and not man. In Him we are no longer slaves to sin, but enslaved to God who has given us true freedom—the free gift of God that is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord (Romans 6:22-23). We don’t have the ability to truly enjoy the freedoms of our country apart from knowing and experiencing the freedom of Christ. And Freedom has a name: JESUS!
I’m so very grateful for Jesus and the eternal freedom he’s gifted me. And I’m thankful for the patriots in our military and government who love and defend our nation’s freedom; the many thousands who gave their lives so that future generations would have the privilege of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness… (The Declaration of Independence – July 4th, 1776).
The liberties we enjoy in the USA:
- The freedom to publicly choose Jesus and openly practice Christianity
- The freedom to worship in a Christian church of our choice
- The freedom to own a Bible
- The freedom to pursue an education
- The freedom to attend a Christian seminary, a Bible study, or Christian college
- The freedom to speak publicly about disagreements with our government
- The freedom to vote in political elections
- The freedom to pursue our God-given dreams
So, God bless America on the 4th of July and every single day we are alive in this country. God bless the people who live here, and the beautiful, extraordinary freedoms of this country! How could I not love the country where I came to know and love Jesus? How could I not show my love for God by loving the land He planted me in, and the people He’s planted me next to?
Hating America for all her faults—and she does have them—will do nothing to benefit the next generation. Even though there’s a lot in our nation’s history that we don’t agree with, or is flat out wrong, we can still be proud that the United States of America is a great country to live in and be grateful for the freedoms we enjoy each day.
“With its Red for love, and it’s White for law,
and it’s Blue for the hope that our fathers saw of a larger liberty.”
The frontispiece from ‘Manual of Patriotism’ 1900.
(Library of Congress photo via The Wall Street Journal)
One More Thing
As Peggy Noonan wrote in her brilliant editorial, Teach Your Children to Love America, “When you don’t love something you lose it. We don’t want that to happen.” Please take the time to read her article—especially if you have young ones at home. It’s really wonderful and full of suggestions on how to pass on a love for our country. Let me know your thoughts, and I hope you’ll share this email with a friend!
Until next week, don’t forget that you are greatly and dearly loved by The King. And let’s keep acting like people who know God and love God, and love the U.S.A!
And don’t pick up the burning sparkler by the wrong end.💥
I love you!
xo – P❤️