I love the Fourth of July because I am privileged and honored to be an American. We are not a perfect country, but for generations we have been the country to whom the world looks for an example of freedom.
When I was eighteen, I spent a year traveling with a singing group called “The Re’Generation.” We traveled throughout the United States doing unabashedly God-and-country programs at civic clubs and churches. I learned so much during that year–not only about music and performance, but about life and God and getting along with people who didn’t grow up exactly as I did. One of the key things I learned is that Christians should not be cloistered–Jesus sent us out into the world to live, work, and raise our families.
Don’t get me wrong–I appreciate large churches and have been involved in several, but when a church gets so large that its people never have to go into the world to eat, educate their children, or play sports, that’s not what Jesus intended. In John 17, he prayed, “My prayer is not that you take them out of the world, but that you protect them from the evil one. They are not of the world, even as I am not of it. Sanctify them by the truth; your word is truth. As you sent me into the world, I have sent them into the world. For them I sanctify myself, that they too may be truly sanctified. My prayer is not for them alone. I pray also for those who will believe in me through their message . . .”
I remember one church we attended wanted to start a Christian little league so the kids wouldn’t have to hear swearing from the coaches. I thought, “Why don’t they send Christian men into the current little league so those men can be a witness to those kids? My hubby coached “secular” little league for years, and prayed before every game with the kids who wanted to join him in prayer.
We have become far too cowed by the voices of people who don’t believe and who actively denigrate godly values and virtues. American may never be the country it once was (one clearly founded on Judeo-Christian values and prayer), but it should be a country where we are free to stand for our Christian beliefs and ideals.
So speak up when you can. Go into the world; don’t remain in your pew. Be a visible witness for Christ. Don’t preach; love, and speak God’s truth when asked why you believe as you do. Jesus did those things. We can do them, too.
And thank God that we still live in a country where we are free to share Christ.
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Amen and amen. Happy 4th all!
Same to you!
Angie
Well said … a charge for all. Thank you for your encouragement & reminder!
:-). Angie