Happy Independence Day! I hope you’re all having a fun day celebrating with your family and friends!

July 4th has always been one of my favorite holidays. I love the parades, barbecues, and fireworks, but I especially love what we’re celebrating: the birth of a new nation built on the idea of liberty. The Declaration of Independence is a brilliant piece of writing, and I believe, inspired by God. The beginning of the United States of America was truly a miracle, and it’s only by His grace we’ve made it this far. Today seems like a great day to reflect on those words Thomas Jefferson wrote 241 years ago!

“We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men 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. — That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed, — That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government…And for the support of this Declaration, with a firm reliance on the protection of Divine Providence, we mutually pledge to each other our Lives, our Fortunes, and our sacred Honor.”

• Life: for the unborn and the elderly, and everyone in between. Because God has given us this right, no one can take it away; in fact, one of the only reasons government exists is to protect this right. We all have the right to live, and to defend the lives of ourselves and those we love.
• Liberty: the freedom from a tyrannical government that dictates and controls our lives. We have the right to live as we see fit, and to make our own decisions about where to live, how to spend our money, and how to worship God and live out our faith every day.
• The Pursuit of Happiness: the freedom to work hard and make our own way and to enjoy the fruits of our labor. We have the freedom to choose how to live our lives, the freedom to try and fail and then pick up the pieces and start all over again.

I don’t know about you, but I feel incredibly blessed to have been born in this country that was founded on these principles, and based on the idea that the purpose of government is to protect the rights we were given by our Creator. As we celebrate today, let’s not forget to pray for our country, that we would turn back to God and continue to enjoy the blessings of liberty for many years to come.

“…Proclaim freedom throughout the land and to all who live there…” Leviticus 25:10