In July 1776, none of us were alive when the Founding Fathers declared America independent from British rule. Contemporary and secular scholars often overlook the fact that they were steeped in a Judeo-Christian worldview. But the United States was clearly established as a nation that recognized “Nature’s God” as the author of our liberties and worthy of our praise.
I was alive in 1976, when America celebrated its bicentennial. A collection of national treasures (or at least their replicas) came to my school—undoubtedly one of many such traveling museums. Even then, the “Spirit of ’76” was a slogan that rang with patriotism and appreciation.
Now, just fifty years later, many in our own country would rather denounce than celebrate our national heritage. Their scorn is heaped highest on the faith foundations our Founders unashamedly endorsed: reverence for God, respect for the Savior, and a recognition that the affairs of men are subject to His overarching authority. We’ve come a long way—in the wrong direction. And as we mark a national milestone, we’re reminded that history is moving toward God’s appointed end.
For two millennia—eight times as long as America has endured—Christians have studied the prophetic promises in Scripture and taken God at His Word. They have longed to be gathered to Christ and dwell in the place He has prepared for us. But they have also been conduits of His blessing on this earth—seeking the welfare of the societies in which they live. They have also acted as a restraint on the wickedness that will surely break out once the Church is removed.
You may be “proud to be an American,” a Canadian, or any other nationality among the family of nations. But those distinctions pale in comparison to your status relative to Jesus Christ if you have citizenship in the Kingdom of God. If you are His, glories beyond imagination await you. And if you are not, neither your passport nor your pedigree will save you from the wrath that will soon be poured out on an unrepentant world.
Celebrate America’s semiquincentennial. Praise God for the blessings and grace He has indeed shed on this land. And thank Him that He has invited us to become citizens of Heaven through the shed blood of Jesus Christ. But even as we await the Rapture and the unfolding of all the events described in Revelation, time marches on in the here and now. Our task—serving our soon-coming King wherever He has placed us—grows more urgent by the day.
