As we celebrate our country’s 250th anniversary, I believe that it is quite fitting to reflect on God’s faithfulness through those years. I’m going to ask 2 questions that I hope will broaden your view of the faith that shaped this nation, and the faith that is shaping and will continue shaping it.
Question #1 How has faith shaped the founding of our nation?
First of all, I believe it was by:
Prayer.
In our family’s living room, we have a painting of George Washington’s “Prayer at Valley Forge.” In it, George Washington is on his knees in prayer to God praying for provision and protection for all of his troops wintering in Valley Forge, PA. The point is, if one of our leading founding fathers prayed like that, it’s no wonder that our country is the flourishing nation that it is today!
Second of all, I also believe it was by:
Action.
Our founding fathers did not just sit around hoping and praying that their freedom would come, no, they took action by fighting for it! They didn’t let the bully, King George III of England, boss them around anymore. In WWII, Winston Churchill stood up against Hitler, the bully, and therefore got the freedom that he was fighting for. The moral of the story is: stand up to the bullies when they need to be put down, and you’ll be rewarded.
Lastly, the faith that shaped this nation was through:
Generational Faithfulness.
Now, you might be wondering: what does that phrase mean? Well, to sum it up it pretty much means to pass on your values to the next generation and to do it faithfully. I believe that our founding fathers did that by writing down their values; through the Constitution, Bill of Rights, and Declaration of Independence, so that the generations to come might read them and continue their substance.
Question#2 How is God calling us to help shape what comes next?
First of all, it’s by:
Prayer.
God’s Word says to “pray without ceasing” (1 Thessalonians 5:17) but especially pray for our country’s leaders (1 Timothy 2:1-4). They’re the ones leading our country, and if they’re not on the right track, how do we expect them to keep a whole country on the right track?!? So therefore, pray for them.
I also believe it’s by:
Action.
Nothing’s going to happen though if you just sit there praying for action, because you’re the one to take the action! A family friend of ours and missionary to South Africa, once said, “Prayer leads to passion, and passion leads to action.” When you look at the apostle Paul, he takes action by speaking out to issues facing his day (Acts 17:22-23). This is because he was aware of the issues (Ephesians 5:15) and was redeeming the time in doing so (Ephesians 5:16). So also, we must do.
Thirdly, God is calling us to help shape what comes next through:
Generational Faithfulness.
The Bible says to teach God’s Word diligently to your children (Deuteronomy 6:5-9, 11:18-19). Our American values of “life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness” are grounded on God’s Word. So therefore, it seems very logical to teach our children God’s Word, from where our values stem from. And that does not mean we tell it to them once and “we’re good!”, no, it says to do it in pretty much everything we do!
If you noticed, the 3 points on the 1st question, and the 3 points on the 2nd question have the same title. Why? Well, I believe that whatever the founding fathers did in their day to keep freedom alive, will be the same thing that keeps freedom alive in our day. May the last verse of “My Country ‘Tis of thee” be the continual prayer in our hearts for the preservation of faith and freedom in our country: “Our fathers God, to Thee, Author of liberty, to Thee we sing: Long may our land be bright with freedom’s holy light, protect us by Thy might, Great God our King!”
