Today we, as a nation, turn 250 years old—young in the world of nations.
Iran and Egypt go back to 3200 BCE (still BC in my book) and 3100 BCE respectively while Japan has seen the longest unbroken imperial lineage dating back to 660 BCE. At least we have Australia beat. They’re only 125 years old.
But 250 years is a long time in the world of democracies. In fact, the U.S. is the oldest continuous democracy in the world—the Great Experiment—the first nation to be founded on “Enlightenment ideals” rather than a “monarchy, dynasty, or shared ethnicity.”
But each generation worries that our nation might not survive. Laura Bush addressed this when she said “Our nation has not always lived up to its ideals—yet those ideals have never ceased to guide us. They expose our flaws and lead us to mend them. We are the beneficiaries of the work of the generations before us, and it is each generation’s responsibility to continue that work.”
It is good for us to remember the work of our forefathers and -mothers and our responsibility to our country and its ideals, but it is far better to remember our duty to God and what He calls us as a nation to be and do-- and the reminder that God not only establishes nations but also judges and destroys them.
A nation is supposed to establish justice, protect the vulnerable, and maintain order (Romans 13:1-7). They are to protect the weak (Proverbs 31:8). They are to act with righteousness (Micah 6:8).
But above all, nations are responsible to God.
"Most High is sovereign over all kingdoms on earth" (Daniel 4:17)
And in Jeremiah 18:7-10 we find the vivid reminder of both God’s forgiveness and his judgment:
If at any time I announce that a nation or kingdom is to be uprooted, torn down and destroyed, and if that nation I warned repents of its evil, then I will relent and not inflict on it the disaster I had planned. And if at another time I announce that a nation or kingdom is to be built up and planted, and if it does evil in my sight and does not obey me, then I will reconsider the good I had intended to do for it.
So let’s do our part. Let’s do as we are commanded to do and pray for our leaders (1 Timothy 2:1-2) and live godly lives (1 Peter 2: 11-17).
Our nation’s health depends on it.
Iran and Egypt go back to 3200 BCE (still BC in my book) and 3100 BCE respectively while Japan has seen the longest unbroken imperial lineage dating back to 660 BCE. At least we have Australia beat. They’re only 125 years old.
But 250 years is a long time in the world of democracies. In fact, the U.S. is the oldest continuous democracy in the world—the Great Experiment—the first nation to be founded on “Enlightenment ideals” rather than a “monarchy, dynasty, or shared ethnicity.”
But each generation worries that our nation might not survive. Laura Bush addressed this when she said “Our nation has not always lived up to its ideals—yet those ideals have never ceased to guide us. They expose our flaws and lead us to mend them. We are the beneficiaries of the work of the generations before us, and it is each generation’s responsibility to continue that work.”
It is good for us to remember the work of our forefathers and -mothers and our responsibility to our country and its ideals, but it is far better to remember our duty to God and what He calls us as a nation to be and do-- and the reminder that God not only establishes nations but also judges and destroys them.
A nation is supposed to establish justice, protect the vulnerable, and maintain order (Romans 13:1-7). They are to protect the weak (Proverbs 31:8). They are to act with righteousness (Micah 6:8).
But above all, nations are responsible to God.
"Most High is sovereign over all kingdoms on earth" (Daniel 4:17)
And in Jeremiah 18:7-10 we find the vivid reminder of both God’s forgiveness and his judgment:
If at any time I announce that a nation or kingdom is to be uprooted, torn down and destroyed, and if that nation I warned repents of its evil, then I will relent and not inflict on it the disaster I had planned. And if at another time I announce that a nation or kingdom is to be built up and planted, and if it does evil in my sight and does not obey me, then I will reconsider the good I had intended to do for it.
So let’s do our part. Let’s do as we are commanded to do and pray for our leaders (1 Timothy 2:1-2) and live godly lives (1 Peter 2: 11-17).
Our nation’s health depends on it.
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