Happy Birthday America!

Happy Birthday America!

John Adams in a speech to the military in 1798 warned his fellow countrymen stating, "We have no government armed with power capable of contending with human passions unbridled by morality and religion . . . Our Constitution was made only for a moral and religious people. It is wholly inadequate to the government of any other." John Adams is a signer of the Declaration of Independence, the Bill of Rights and our second President.

I think I must argue that religion does not work.  Religion also is used to justify horrible violence and hate.  On the other hand Jesus works.  There are blessings in the way of Jesus.  It is counter intuitive and counter cultural.  He teaches there is a value in being poor in spirit, mourning, meekness, hunger for righteousness, purity, peacemaking and even rejoicing in persecution and insult.

As disciples of Jesus we are promised that we are a salt and light to our world.  God’s word stands even as the surrounding situation may become more and more wicked.

God wants to us resist violence, but also resist more common transgressions such as anger, lust and divorce.

Jesus challenges us to be true to ourselves.  Our “yes” remains “yes”.  We remain true to our vows even when it hurts

Jesus most important counter cultural teaching is the value of love.  Love wins.  Love should of course be extended to family and friends, but Jesus teaches something that seems ridiculous.  A salt influence means being bold in a culture that is against us.  Not all suffering is because people have been bad, some is because we are being good.  We must hold on to the faith in Jesus’ way.  Love our enemies.  Jesus recommends blessing the people who insult us.  Stay loyal to Jesus and He will take His disciples home to their eternal reward when their life here is over.  Many of the finest men and women have given their life to something bigger than themselves including this great country. 

I think John Adams was making the point that the way to make America truly exceptional was to treat those who hate us with a morality that goes beyond hate to respect the human dignity of the most heinous of humans.  The American culture is what drives the vision of this amazing country and that culture has been soaked with the teachings of Jesus and I hope more and more the culture will reflect Him.

2 Chronicles 7.

¹⁴ if my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and I will forgive their sin and will heal their land. ¹⁵ Now my eyes will be open and my ears attentive to the prayers offered in this place. ¹⁶ I have chosen and consecrated this temple so that my Name may be there forever. My eyes and my heart will always be there.

Happy Birthday America.

Matthew 5.

Larry Wishard