Last weekend we celebrated the 233rd birthday of the United States of America. On Wednesday my wife and daughters and I watched the Rochester Hills fireworks in the rain. Even though we were about a mile away, far from the startling booms, after the first little thud Riley buried her head in my shoulder and wouldn’t look up until it was over. But Madelyn loved the show. Heather took her to another show on Saturday and they sat just a few hundred yards away, right below the action. I stayed home with Riley. I guess fireworks are one way of celebrating our nation.

As kids we’re taught to salute the flag, say the pledge, and stand for the national anthem. We’re taught how great this nation is. I was taught the same thing. I said the pledge everyday at school when I was a kid. (Do they still do that today?) But as a young adult I began to question the greatness of our nation, mostly in reaction to the over-idealization of our nation by many Christians. I heard “American was founded as a Christian nation” asserted and demanded as if it were a cardinal truth, a non-negotiable of orthodox Christianity. But Thomas Jefferson, the author of the Declaration of Independence, was a deist for goodness sake! I reacted to the seeming worship of America, usually America of the past. But I’ve had a change of mind. I still don’t believe that America is a Christian nation. (People are Christians, not nations. We may be founded on Christian principles, but we, as a whole, are not Christian.) And I do not believe that the kingdom of God depends on the existence of the United States of American. But, that being said, I have rediscovered my love for our nation. Partly because of reading biographies of great American presidents like John Adams and Theodore Roosevelt.

Right now I’m reading a biography of Abraham Lincoln. He led our nation during its perhaps darkest days. I had often wondered about the reasons for the civil war. Why, if the Southern states wanted to go their own way, why not let them? For two reasons: First, because many, including Abraham Lincoln, believed that slavery was wrong. And Lincoln would not endorse or recognize the formation of a nation if the reason for its inception was the assertion of a state’s right to practice slavery. And second, and Lincoln’s initial reason for going to war, was to preserve the Union. He went to war to defend the Constitution and to uphold to rule of law. The Union was worth fighting for and it was his responsibility as president to defend the Constitution.

My wife and I spent last weekend with her parents. We attended their church Sunday morning. (Don’t tell Pastor Don that I skipped out of Bloomfield!). The service was not patriotic. And I’m glad. At church we worship God, not America. However, in the pastor’s sermon, he spoke a lot about our nation. He pleaded for revival in America, beginning with the Church. He challenged his congregation that revival begins with Christians living pure and distinctive lives in obedience to God. He shared several quotes by past Presidents connecting the health of the United States to adherence to Christian truth.

America was born to exemplify that devotion to the elements of righteousness which are derived from the revelations of Holy Scriptures. Ladies and gentlemen, I have a very simple thing to ask of you. I as of every man and woman in this audience that from this night on they will realize that part of the destiny of America lies in their daily perusal of this great book of revelations. That if they would see America free and pure they will make their own spirits free and pure by this baptism of the Holy Scripture. Woodrow Wilson

The fundamental basis of this nation's law was given to Moses on the Mount. The fundamental basis of our Bill of Rights comes from the teaching we get from Exodus and St. Matthew, from Isaiah and St. Paul. I don't think we emphasize that enough these days. If we don't have the proper fundamental moral background, we will finally end up with a totalitarian government which does not believe in the right for anybody except the state. Harry S. Truman

And at the end of the service, the choir and band sang “God Bless America.” I sang along with them while trying not to let my wife see that I was getting a little choked up. And at the end of the song, as the choir ramped up to a big finish, a gigantic American flag covering the whole stage was unfurled from the ceiling, and fireworks exploded from above and below the stage. It was very moving. I take the song as a prayer that God will intervene on behalf of our nation. Though American is not the New Israel or a chosen people, God does care about the nations. He does guide their formation and oversee their collapse. He has been at work in our nation and He has blessed us. And even until today, He has sustained us. And the song is quite timely – we do seem to be in a time of darkness: abortion on demand, homosexual marriage normalized, violent terrorism, the erosion of freedom, rampant materialism, and economic uncertainty. We are in need of the light of Christ. So this is my prayer: