“If My people who are called by My name humble themselves, and pray and seek My face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and heal their land.” 2 Chronicles 7:14
Happy birthday, America! Tomorrow we celebrate the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence. That was the time when brave patriots, and not just the ones who signed the document itself, said, “enough is enough.” It was the time when they dared to dream of something bigger and better than the life they had. It was the time when they wished something more not only for themselves but also for the generations to come. They wished for something more for us.
Tomorrow is July 4th and I will go to my closet and pull out one of my favorite shirts. It is an explosion of patriotism–a celebration of the stars and stripes that make up our great flag. The shirt is a full-blown declaration of love for this great country. It is colored with the colors of our country…red for the blood that has been shed that we could be free…white for the purity of the motive of those who have served…and died for this great country…and blue for their loyalty to the American ideals—such as we are all created equal. I know we are still working on that one but regardless it is a standard worth working for.
Before I walk out the door, I will grab my favorite veterans cap. It is old and a bit floppy, but I love it too. It carries the emblem of the Air Force on the front and the letters U.S.A.F on the bill and the back. Finally, also across the back, it says “above all.” When I joined the Air Force, I raised my right hand and took an oath to “protect the constitution of the United States against all enemies…foreign and domestic.” I also committed to obey the orders of those appointed over me. Because of that oath, those words on that cap are a testament of this veteran and every Air Force veteran that our service and willingness to sacrifice could and should be second only to our sacrifice and service to God.
I love America. I am proud that, by God’s grace, I was born an American. I am grateful that I was given the opportunity to serve America in her Armed Forces. The tragedy today is that too many have come to the conclusion that because she is not perfect, that she hasn’t lived up to all her ideals, that somehow that makes her less than. Well, the truth is America is like us because America is us. And like us she never will be perfect but that doesn’t mean we should walk away from her. If America is her people, then perhaps we should complain less and step up to make her more.
My prayer would be that God would continue to bless this great land…not because we deserve it, because we don’t, but rather as an act of His amazing grace. The song says it best, “O beautiful for spacious skies, For amber waves of grain, For purple mountain majesties, Above the fruited plain! America! America! God shed His grace on thee, And crown thy good with brotherhood From sea to shining sea!” The second verse continues, “O beautiful for pilgrim feet Whose stern impassioned stress, A thoroughfare for freedom beat Across the wilderness! America! America! God mend thine every flaw, Confirm thy soul in self-control, Thy liberty in law!”
Let me suggest that we make a prayer for our country a daily matter of prayer. After all, the One who made us is the One who can fix us. Don’t forget, even in and especially in matters of our country, He’s got this. Bro. Dewayne
Grits with Grace 