THE FOUNDATIONS FOR OUR GREATNESS
As we come to America’s 246th birthday, we would do well to consider the faith of some of our Founding Fathers. One of the most instrumental of America’s Founding Fathers was John Adams, who followed George Washington as our nation’s second President. What is often overlooked was the godliness of this man and his wife, Abigail. Their passion for liberty was surpassed only by the love for God and His will. Their correspondence is considered among our most treasured historical documents. Their letters reveal not only their devotion to one another but to our nation and to their God. On October 16, 1774, prior to the outbreak of war with England, Abigail wrote from their home in Braintree, Massachusetts to her husband John who was in Philadelphia at the First Continental Congress. Here are her words:
“I dare not express to you, at three hundred miles distance, how ardently I long for your return….And whether the end will be tragical, Heaven only knows. You cannot be, I know, nor do I wish to see you, an inactive spectator; but if the sword be drawn, I bid adieu to all domestic felicity, and look forward to that land where there are neither wars nor rumors of war, in a firm belief that through the mercy of its King we shall both rejoice there together. Your most affectionate, Abigail Adams.”
In this tender letter are expressed all that has made our nation great. Love for marriage, family, country, and above all the true King of our lives in whose kingdom there will ever be peace. As America celebrates yet another birthday, wondering what the future holds, let us draw from these lines a determination to keep pursuing what it means to be “one nation under God,” with life, liberty and justice for all. God bless America and may we yet return to a day when we unashamedly bless His holy name.
“Blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord” Psalm 33:12
Pastor Mike
