1 John 4:21 - Independence Day
Independence Day. A day to celebrate this nation, give thanks, and love others. When we spend time with God, like the Apostle John did, we grow in our understanding of God’s character. Our loving Father is gracious and compassionate, slow to anger, abounding in lovingkindness. We see that in our families, our communities, and the history of our nation. God has every ability - and every reason - to send calamity. But He relents, He holds off because we are His children (4:15, and Jonah 4:2).
Our job is to repent of our sins and to ask for forgiveness. We pray that we are the fertile ground, the good soil where God will produce a healthy harvest. Look around, God has and is producing much fruit in this nation and around the world. God’s Kingdom, His eternal Kingdom is not of this world. Yet God is growing His Kingdom today; it is forcefully advancing.
We must be careful not to put our trust in earthly things. God has one people; being part of God’s family is the most important thing. And as members of that family, grafted in by confessing Jesus as our Saviour, we have an essential role to play. Each of us.
So let’s pray for good leaders in this earthly nation. God hears our prayers, but He will not honor what is not of Him. We need good men. Men and women who are trustworthy because of whom they fear and whom they trust. Honest people. People who replicate God’s character in private just as they do in public. Yes, we have had our fill of bad leaders. The weeds grow alongside the wheat. The church has many who chase after the deceitfulness of riches and pleasures of this world - empty poisons.
Yet God is faithful. He is raising up good men around the globe who are noble because they know God. Their hearts are tested and good because of the blood of Christ. They understand and accept God’s charge. Their charge is to do the will of God.
We press on because we know we are God’s children. We are loved. And we know what He expects of us. God forbid we fail our Lord Jesus. God forbid we fear men more than we fear God.
We trust God’s Providence for us today and in this life. We have tasted His goodness, so we trust He is the builder and the architect of the new heaven and earth yet to come (Hebrews 11:10).
Yes, happy Independence Day. A great day for our country. A day to celebrate all her good. With God's blessing and Providence America will be a righteous nation. All things are possible with God. It's also a day to celebrate independence from being slaves to sin; we are freemen. Just as the Framers were as they fought with pen and musket against tyranny and oppression. Free to trust and follow God. They, like we, were blessed as they were surrounded by His comfort and lovingkindness. They forged a nation, trusting God.
As Christians, we must not believe everyone who claims to speak by the Spirit of God. John tells us in this Scripture passage that there are many false teachers and prophets in the world (4:1). Yes, we’ve seen that throughout history. Over and over and over. We’ve worked alongside people who love to cut corners if it helps them get ahead. (Maybe we've been that person.) Such people don’t care what God thinks. They want to know whether they can get away with it (little do they know that's not how God's economy works). They don’t care who they set back, harm, inconvenience, and exclude from God’s goodness. They bowl people over and think nothing of it; like ants under their designer shoes. Many do it in the name of kingdom building. John says they are false prophets. Liars. They pretend to follow God but they do not acknowledge the truth about Jesus - and you can see that by what they say and do.
In my professional career as a corporate lawyer, I’ve had many great clients. Good men and women, entrepreneurs, champions of industry. I’ve been privileged to sit on public company boards and private boards with men and women of integrity. Often it's the more accomplished who are the more humble. They are the last to brag about what they've done and the first to tell you of their sheer fortune from God and their need to learn and do more. It's the frauds who are the braggarts.
But I’ve also had many clients who are sold out to building their own kingdoms. They want to know what the law is. But motives matter to God. Rather than care about obedience they want to know what they can get away with. One justification I’ve heard many times is that everyone else is doing it in such and such a way so we must too. So many businessmen (and Christian businessmen at that) fall to the sin of expediency. We have to do it this way, they say, or others will get ahead of us. That is not a biblical perspective. They think they need to be God’s instrument to help God out in a pinch. If we can just help them cut a corner and break a law so that God’s kingdom can advance, then they will help God get ahead. Nonsense. God does not need their help. They may sound smart, reasonable, and righteous. But John tells us to look beyond the Christianese. If we do we may very well see that they speak from the world’s viewpoint (not God’s!). They are owned by the devil - the prince of this world - and it is those of the world that love what they do and listen carefully to what they say (4:5). I've witnessed many of those types of kingdom builders. I had one entrepreneur tell me after he hired me to help him through a bankruptcy restructuring that he had wished he'd hired me years before so that he could have avoided the mess. Often hindsight is crystal clear, but in my experience, it's tougher than it seems to help entrepreneurs stick to their knitting. In the fire, men are incredibly stubborn. Convincing committed men of their folly is hard. Yet through prayer, all things are possible.
And I say with no joy that those who follow such self-serving kingdom-building often have lives that look very similar. Their lives are fruitless. Marriages destroyed. Dysfunction. Bitter disputes and unhealthy relationships. That's the harvest of the wide path, taking the world's approach.
As Christians, we must be careful not to listen to these men. Reject the world’s way. Instead, rely on God. Forgive. Love one another with the selfless, powerful love of God. A love so powerful it gives us eternal life - real love (4:10). And build things for the long haul. Build great businesses. Pass good laws, adjudicate fairly, and administer efficiently and strictly in compliance with delegated authority (kingdom building comes in all sorts of fashions as we've seen with our modern administrative state).
This Independence Day let’s celebrate well. We are so fortunate to live where we do. Be the neighbors and countrymen that honor the name of Jesus Christ. Be first in line to serve. Be willing to yield to others, for Jesus says it is okay to be last in line. A noble country requires men and women worthy of the hard work of building. Flourishing requires sacrifice. Yet with God, even the hardest tasks and fiercest battles are good because we serve alongside our King. The Christian life is the Good Life.
As God’s children, we give thanks for all things. We trust that we are citizens of heaven. We do not fear judgment day. For we are different because God lives in us and is making us new. We live like Jesus in this world (4:17) as we trust in His return and His everlasting Kingdom. Amen.
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