On July 2, 1776 the Continental Congress approved the text of the Declaration of Independence. The next day, John Adams wrote to his wife, Abigail, “I am apt to believe that it will be celebrated by succeeding generations as the great anniversary Festival. It ought to be commemorated, as the day of deliverance, by solemn acts of devotion to God Almighty.” The following day—July 4—the delegates voted to accept the Declaration, which was publicly read the first time outside Independence Hall in Philadelphia on July 8. Let us never forget that everything good America has is a gift from God for which we must be thankful to him (James 1:17). As we celebrate the freedom of this most blessed of nations, let us reaffirm our dependence on the One who made it all possible. Ultimately, America’s prosperity is not due to the discoveries of brilliant minds, or the prowess of our military, or the strength of our economy, or our oft-touted diversity. Abundance is traced to the generous hand of the God who sustains us. On the third panel of the Jefferson Memorial in Washington, D.C. is this quote from Thomas Jefferson: “God who gave us life gave us liberty. Can the liberties of a nation be secure when we have removed a conviction that these liberties are the gift of God? Indeed I tremble for my country when I reflect that God is just, that his justice cannot sleep forever.” It is still true that “Righteousness exalteth a nation; But sin is a reproach to any people” (Proverbs 14:34). Over two centuries later, has our culture grown closer to the Bible, or further from it? Are you contributing to the formation of a society that respects God’s word, or to one which disdains it? His word will, after all, judge each one of us eventually (Hebrews 9:27; John 12:48; Revelation 20:12).
-Weylan Deaver, TBC Online Instructor