House Church Talk - One American's 4th of July Hope

[jim sutton]

This 4th of July we in the USA celebrate our freedom as a people.  And our 
people are many, since the U.S. is populated with the peoples of the whole 
world.

My son is serving today in the Middle East, in the Navy, but based on land, 
servicing marine choppers.  Many others also have sons, daughters, husbands, 
wives, moms and dads serving in the conflict that goes on, even now.  

The freedom of any nation always comes at great cost.  Often we may feel that 
we're in a battle that cannot be truly won.

A moving passage of Scripture says:
When Joab saw that the battle line was against him before and behind, he chose 
some of Israel’s best and put them in battle array against the Syrians. 
 And the rest of the people he put under the command of Abishai his brother, 
that he might set them in battle array against the people of Ammon.  
Then he said, "If the Syrians are too strong for me, then you shall help me; 
but if the people of Ammon are too strong for you, then I will come and help 
you.  "Be of good courage, and let us be strong for our people and for the 
cities of our God.  And may the LORD do what is good in His sight."  (2 Sam 
10:9-12)
-------------------

It's certainly true that our freedom as Americans has never been free of the 
sacrifices of many.  And the battle for freedom continues to this very day.

I'm often moved by the feelings of uncertainty felt by many about our future, 
even from the very beginning.  Our national anthem reflects the struggles in 
the hearts during those early battles -- asking, is the flag still waving, did 
we last the terrible night?  Do we still have a chance to exist as a free 
nation?  

Later on, in another and more bitter war, the Battle Hymn of the Republic 
rallies weary hearts to keep going, keep fighting, keep hoping -- saying, as 
He (Christ) died to make men holy, let us die to make men free... while God is 
marching on.

And our men and women in uniform today still die in order that others may 
live, and hold on to a dream and a hope of freedom.  While our God still 
marches.

Many wonder, me included, about what will really come out of the present 
business in Iraq.  We Christians know that eventually things will certainly 
get much worse.  But some, such as I, pray for our own generation, our own 
times and the times of our children.  

I pray for our own nation, and I pray for the Iraqi people -- that they may 
yet have life and peace.  That they may be permitted to raise their families, 
and have a secure home, and a hope for good in the near future.  I do not know 
when Jesus will return, or when the "endtimes" will be fulfilled.  But I know 
that all people everywhere need the same chance at genuine peace in life.  

So I often pray for all nations and tribes, that God will help us to get past 
our natural stupidity and live for the sake of our children and grandchildren.

The main thing I hope for right now, on this 4th of July weekend, is that the 
soldiers who now suffer and die in the present struggle will not have suffered 
and died in vain.  What a pity that would be.

I pray that God will give us at home the wisdom to do our part.  No freedom or 
good is ever won on the battlefields alone.  The citizens themselves must also 
share and act in that same spirit, with the same hope.  While some fight and 
shed their own blood, the rest of us must also stand true to the same 
struggle, or it will soon be lost.

I pray that the folks at home will understand that we need to vote, to speak 
up for what is right and fair, to work hard for the common good.  We must join 
in the struggle for the future of our good nation -- this great gift of 
America that God in shear mercy has given us, and that we still enjoy today.  

We must hold up the flag -- and not just with our hands, or hanging it on a 
pole.  We must lift up the ideals of justice and freedom for all, and all that 
America stands for -- all that our soldiers are willing to die for -- and we 
must do our part each day to keep that hope alive and present for our little 
ones.  

And we must pray and speak and act on that hope, so that God may truly and 
fully -- and without any reservations at all -- Bless America.

As an American believer in Jesus Christ, I understand that it is not for 
America that Christ died or was raised again, but for every human being. 
 God's love is not for America or for Americans only, but for every human 
being on the face of the earth.  God loves people and He extends His hand in 
mercy to all.  

So let us all pray -- wherever we live, wherever we were born -- first for our 
our own children and neighbors and towns and cities and nations, and then for 
all the rest of the people of this world.  The world needs Jesus, and only the 
gospel of God's grace in Jesus Christ can ultimately set anyone free.

Jim