I think it rather serendipitous that the fourth day of July falls on a Wednesday this year, since I send out this weekly pastoral messages on Wednesday and in the churches located in the United States, this is one day where we get to see the true tension between the message of the gospel and the message of our society, especially as it relates to where our ultimate allegiance lies. Of course, far better for this day to fall on Wednesday rather than Sunday, when it can truly get ugly if we do not watch out.
Why is it so hard to look at the fourth of July holiday as a Christian? Well, for one thing, it is referred to as Independence Day. Looking back at history, this is not a bad thing, for King George III had definitely been a bit unreasonable when it came to his demands for the colonies of North America. Political independence is fine, and needs to be celebrated. After all, it is far easier to worship our Lord when we don't have to worry about our lives being jeopardized just for proclaiming the gospel, right? Along those lines, it is easier to follow our Lord when we live in a society where we have the freedom to worship as we choose, right?
When I was talking about this yesterday with one of my colleagues, he related to me that this past Sunday, he asked his congregation to write down what was the best thing about living in this country. As he looked over the cards, he shared with me that the most common answer was "The right to control my own destiny." As we talked further, we came to the conclusion that this is very scary for us in the church - for the question then becomes, "OK - what destiny are you choosing?"
This is the question I think we need to face today, and every day that we think about how wonderful it is to live in this country (even with all its faults in the past, present, and future). What destiny are we choosing? I think the truest way to answer this is to look at what motivates our direction in life. Are we more concerned about having the political freedom to choose our own destiny or about having the absolute freedom from sin given to us (by God through Christ by the power of the Holy Spirit) to live in a way that says, to paraphrase Paul, that we live no longer according to the standards of this world but instead are transformed by the renewing of our minds?
Do you want to truly honor the traditional ideals under which this country was founded? Let's get serious about not focusing on celebrating the political freedom to worship as we choose, but get around to living the transformed life that comes from freedom in Christ. Let's get serious about realizing that we are called to live a life where our ultimate goal is nothing more and nothing less than God's will being done in our lives. Let's get serious about realizing that if we do not allow ourselves to live lives that are centered first and foremost on the Triune God, then what good is all this political freedom that is being celebrated today?
See you Sunday!
Lamar
Why is it so hard to look at the fourth of July holiday as a Christian? Well, for one thing, it is referred to as Independence Day. Looking back at history, this is not a bad thing, for King George III had definitely been a bit unreasonable when it came to his demands for the colonies of North America. Political independence is fine, and needs to be celebrated. After all, it is far easier to worship our Lord when we don't have to worry about our lives being jeopardized just for proclaiming the gospel, right? Along those lines, it is easier to follow our Lord when we live in a society where we have the freedom to worship as we choose, right?
When I was talking about this yesterday with one of my colleagues, he related to me that this past Sunday, he asked his congregation to write down what was the best thing about living in this country. As he looked over the cards, he shared with me that the most common answer was "The right to control my own destiny." As we talked further, we came to the conclusion that this is very scary for us in the church - for the question then becomes, "OK - what destiny are you choosing?"
This is the question I think we need to face today, and every day that we think about how wonderful it is to live in this country (even with all its faults in the past, present, and future). What destiny are we choosing? I think the truest way to answer this is to look at what motivates our direction in life. Are we more concerned about having the political freedom to choose our own destiny or about having the absolute freedom from sin given to us (by God through Christ by the power of the Holy Spirit) to live in a way that says, to paraphrase Paul, that we live no longer according to the standards of this world but instead are transformed by the renewing of our minds?
Do you want to truly honor the traditional ideals under which this country was founded? Let's get serious about not focusing on celebrating the political freedom to worship as we choose, but get around to living the transformed life that comes from freedom in Christ. Let's get serious about realizing that we are called to live a life where our ultimate goal is nothing more and nothing less than God's will being done in our lives. Let's get serious about realizing that if we do not allow ourselves to live lives that are centered first and foremost on the Triune God, then what good is all this political freedom that is being celebrated today?
See you Sunday!
Lamar
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