Truth in Love #4
Posted on Facebook Jul 27, 2020
GOOD MORNING KINGDOM!
Truth in Love Part 4
This was originally started in the wee morning hours of July 4th in a cabin on the top of a mountain in Colorado, but never finished. The message is still appropriate, so I finished it this morning.
Happy 4th of July everyone!
Today commemorates the birth of our nation, when we declared our independence from the oppression of the British empire. People had fled an oppressive nation into hostile territory to seek a better life, one where they would be free to worship without persecution. For that reason the framers of our constitution incorporated God’s divine hand in it. Once formed, we began expanding the nation from those original 13 colonies westward and southward, exerting our control and culture on others who had come before the people fleeing the British rule. Some were originally foreigners themselves, from other parts of Europe (Spain for example) several hundred years before. Others, commonly accepted as “native Americans” may themselves been descendants from whom some consider the original discoverers of America, travelers from Asia to America over the Bering land bridge connecting Siberia to the area now recognized as the state of Alaska. This was long before Columbus “discovered” America.
This, however, is not meant to be an historical or archeological lesson, per say. It’s about “oppression” in the name of freedom. Our nation was born from oppression. We, in turn, expanded our nation, often oppressing others who stood in our way of that expansion. Our history is smothered in oppression, as one group of people attempt to exert their influence over other groups of people. It happens every two and four years as political parties square off and fight for the right to rule over everyone else, and not to represent the people. Now, the struggles and battles come from within our borders, rather than from without.
Our constitution established a government to serve its citizens. It separated and balanced governmental powers to safeguard the interests of majority rule and minority rights, of liberty and equality, and of the federal and state governments. Today it would appear we no longer have that “majority rule.” It’s more like the “haves” are in control: those with the most money, the biggest toys, the loudest voices, the greatest desire for violence.
This is also not a political treatise. Just setting the backdrop.
Thousand of years before the birth of our Nation, another nation was born out of oppression. Abram left his home land, at God’s direction, into hostile territory, Canaan, to eventually and literally birth a new Nation (father of the Israelite nation). In their case, their oppressions came from without, as throughout history, the Israelites have been persecuted by one nation (or several) after another, forced from their land, even taken into captivity.
They too had internal struggles. At one point in their history, they wanted to be ruled by a King, just as much as the rest of the world was ruled by kings at the time. God granted their request, which didn’t work out the way they expected or wanted, for the most part.
The Constitution starts with “We the People…” The second sentence of the Declaration of Independence states, “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all me are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.” Scriptures tell us, in Galatians 3:28: “There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is neither male nor female; for you are all one in Christ Jesus.” We are to love God and love our neighbor. So on this day, as we celebrate our freedom from the tyranny of Britain, let us remember that we must love God and love one another, as we are all brothers and sisters in Jesus Christ. From that love will spring unity and peace, as we lay hold of that belief with our entire heart.
Be Blessed!