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Daily Devotional
July 06, 2008
A Vision for America
You are the salt of the earth. But if the salt loses its saltiness, how can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out and trampled underfoot. You are the light of the world. A city on a hill cannot be hidden. Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven. Matthew 5:13-16 (TNIV)
Jesus called them together and said, "You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their high officials exercise authority over them. Not so with you. Instead, whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant, and whoever wants to be first must be your slave-- just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many." Matthew 20:25-28 (TNIV)
On this Independence Day weekend, my prayer is that our nation will remember and be faithful to our highest ideals; that our heritage of freedom and justice will instill us with pride that is laced with humility; and that we will be eager to repent whenever we fall short of our ideals.
Some of our great national hymns express this twin focus of pride and repentance:
From the hymn "America the Beautiful":
America! America!
God mend thine ev'ry flaw,
Confirm thy soul in self-control,
Thy liberty in law.
And from:
This is my song, O God of all the nations,
A song of peace for lands afar and mine.
This is my home, the country where my heart is;
Here are my hopes, my dreams, my holy shrine;
But other hearts in other lands are beating
With hopes and dreams as true and high as mine.
Our nation was founded on the principle of God-given human dignity, an equality that is "self-evident," a dignity with certain unalienable rights that are endowed by our Creator. We receive this blessing of freedom, not from the generosity of the state but from the hand of God.
Jesus says to his followers, "Be salt and light." I met a young man this week who started a local company called "SodiumHalogen." It's a subtle expression of how he wants to do business--salt and light. Salt gives flavor and it preserves. Christians give flavor to our world when we live out the preservative values of the Kingdom.
A faithful vision for America is committed to individual rights and to equal justice under the law.
Fifty years ago, in 1958, President Eisenhower proclaimed May 1 as Law Day. In a national radio address on the first Law Day, American Bar Association president Charles Rhyne said the founders of our nation had the vision of a government under law which would transfer sovereignty from ruler to the ruled, thus guaranteeing individual freedom.
This nation is based on biblical ideals that spring from the Abrahamic tradition of monotheism, or belief in one God. This gift is described in Genesis 12:1-3, as God's way of blessing all the families of the earth.
Our heritage is one that seeks to live out a gracious sovereignty.
I do not have words adequate to describe how grateful I am that our nation was founded on the principles of liberty and the sacred worth of every human being. This should make each of us so thankful for our heritage that we could burst with pride.
But, it isn't the kind of pride that seeks to strut, or dominate. I'm proud that we have discovered a great and universal gift that is available to all people everywhere. I marvel at the unique combination of souls who founded this nation--the likes of Franklin, Washington, Adams, Jefferson and Madison. The genius of their work was their ability to insist that individual freedom was more important than any institution they might create. If the government of King George III could be overthrown for cause, then any government they might create could also be overthrown should it fail to hold fast to the principle of "liberty and justice for all."
Their vision calls us to pursue eternal values greater than ourselves. They envisioned a gracious sovereignty in which we defend our right to live as a free nation but we do not seek to "lord it over" any nation.
When George Washington became president, some people thought he should be called "Your Majesty," as kings and queens were addressed. But, on inauguration day, 1789, he was called, simply, "Mr. President." Washington understood that our nation and its leaders would be wise to emulate the one who said: "You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over (others) ...Not so with you. Instead, whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant."
Our nation was founded on a passion for freedom that transcends self-interest.
We are at our best when we seek not our way, but the way of freedom for all people everywhere. We are faithful to our founders' vision when we are willing to share the blessings of liberty and to assist others who strive for it. We are true to our highest ideals when we go about this work with no desire to control or dominate others.
Perhaps our greatest challenge is the challenge of power. Other powerful nations in history have become empires. If we are faithful to our heritage, we will resist that temptation and we will exercise our power for the common good.
In January, 2003, Secretary of State Colin Powell was in Switzerland for the World Economic Forum. In response to a question about America's power in the world, Mr. Powell said, We have gone forth from our shores repeatedly over the last hundred years ... and put wonderful young men and women at risk, many of whom have lost their lives, and we have asked for nothing except enough ground to bury them in....
Today we conclude our conversation with Adam Hamilton with his words:
America has such incredible potential to create a better, safer, and more just world. The key, I believe, is found in claiming several fundamental biblical ideals: "Blessed to be a blessing," "the light of the world," and demonstrating true greatness through humility and service--this, I believe, is a worthy vision for America.
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