Our birthdays are markers of our journey through life that call us to reflect on all that has come before, rejoice in our present moment, and consider the opportunities and challenges we will face in the future. Birthdays are a time to celebrate with family and friends who share our history. As we swap stories about the good times and the bad, lingering over the good times and seeking to learn from the bad, we remember our lives are a precious gift shaped by both.
I believe we should approach the 250th birthday of America with the same attitude. Not that we ignore our present faults and past failures, but we shouldn’t allow our minds to linger on them when we have so much to celebrate and be thankful for. We live in an interesting time where many people — from podcasters to politicians, and from cultural influencers to sports, news, and entertainment icons — revel in lambasting everything America represents. Many consider patriotism to be passé — nothing more than a sentimental relic that belongs in a thought museum next to civility and a shared sense of morality.
In this jaded and often cynical environment, I’m reminded of how many things we have to be thankful for as Americans.
Freedom left undefined and unappreciated is freedom that is hard to defend. I want to focus on three of what our founders referred to as the blessings of life and liberty.
First, I am thankful for religious liberty.
The First Amendment of the Constitution states that “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion or prohibiting the free exercise thereof.” I doubt our 18th-century framers of that powerful, protective phrase could have imagined the challenges 21st-century people of faith would face from a hostile culture. Men like Jack Phillips, owner of the Masterpiece Cake Shop in Colorado, and women like graphic designer Lori Smith are two of many everyday Americans who simply want to live out their faith in Christ in every aspect of their lives. Phillips and Smith spent years in court defending their right to express and live out their faith publicly. By refusing to bow to the pressure brought on by those who would silence any public expression of Christian values, they stood their ground all the way to the Supreme Court. In both cases, the Court ruled in favor of religious liberty, clarifying that the government cannot force a commercial creator or artist to express messages that violate their deeply held beliefs.
Religious liberty differs from what some call freedom of worship, in that our right to express our faith extends far beyond the church house. It protects us when we talk about Jesus in the marketplace, in our neighbor’s house, the schoolhouse, the statehouse, even all the way to the White House. And religious liberty has made America the center of missionary mobilization, making it possible for the gospel to be spread to every nation on earth.
I am thankful for the form of government our founders created.
We are not a democracy held captive by the will of the majority. America is a constitutional republic. In this republic, the Constitution protects the rights of the minority against the corrupting influence of a perpetual majority. Our three branches of government (legislative, executive, and judicial) provide the checks and balances that form the guardrails of our Republic from the corrupting influence of absolute power.
Finally, I am thankful for federalism and a free-market economy.
We are not a conglomerate of states ruled by an all-powerful central government in Washington. We are 50 individual states where we the people elect leaders who shape each state according to the values and beliefs of the majority who live there. Capitalism and a free-market economy have created more wealth and lifted more people out of poverty than any other economic system in history.
Happy birthday, America! As we reflect on 250 years of our existence, may we rejoice, remember, and reflect on the blessings of God. And may we go forward as a grateful people dedicated to preserving our liberty by seeking God in humility, repentance, and a desire for His righteousness in Christ.