FREEDOM 250 – Our Best Days Are Ahead

I grew up in a country where the national symbol is a withered, dying leaf and the national animal is a rodent! 

Still is. 

Sure, the beaver is known for hard work, but their big goal in life is to dam up free flowing water and turn it into a swamp. Sounds like many modern politicians today.

And Canada chose that for their inspiration. True to form, at the governmental level, they have an aversion to freedom and the free flow of ideas. As a young man, satellite dishes were illegal and so was Christian radio and television. They even restricted the amount of American music we could listen to.

But in 1985, I had a dream where I saw a map of the USA with a green dot in what looked like the Nashville area. I went on an American road trip and never looked back!

I’ve often said that if I was blindfolded in the back seat of a car and driven across the border into America without stopping, I could FEEL the difference, and know when we were in the U.S.

It was the feeling of FREEDOM.

The first time I saw a Waffle House, I couldn’t believe my good fortune! Then I discovered Steak ‘n Shake! I was blown away that someone had turned my favorite meals into fast food!

God directed my steps, and the opportunities opening before me were incredible. One company wanted me to head up sales using satellite technology. Another wanted me to be the president of their small oil company. (I was 29 years old!) 

Opportunities were abounding and it seemed that in America, anything was possible. The gospel was free flowing. Churches everywhere… (compared to about a 5% Christian population in Canada).

I never left.

Living in America has been one of the greatest blessings in my life. I do believe in American exceptionalism because America is truly exceptional. It wouldn’t be exceptional if it wasn’t for the salt of the gospel liberally spread across this nation.

If you doubt the exceptional nature of America, just look at any of the thousands of videos posted by foreigners visiting America for this year’s world cup, who are blown away by what we take for granted. None of them want to leave!

That was my experience when I came here 41 years ago.

When I travel to Europe for example, they live life small. If you ask for ice in a restaurant, they scowl as if you asked them to cosign for a loan. The routine answer I heard countless times over simple requests of what was normal in the U.S. was “That’s not possible”.

When I tried to explain how easy it was to make ice, that didn’t endear me to them. Just put some water in the freezer, I told them, and when it solidifies, make it available for folks who prefer cold drinks and hot food, instead of warm drinks and cold food.

That didn’t land well with them. One friend of mine was told on his visit to England that the problem with Americans is that they think they can do anything! 

That’s right bloke! You might want to try that sometime!

That “It’s not possible” mindset, is endemic in the countries that some in America want to remake us in the image of. 

But that won’t happen.

Not if we remember that it was for freedom that Christ has set us free, and that with God all things are possible to him that believes.

In America we chose the majestic eagle for our national animal. It symbolizes, strength, freedom and independence. We’re not a nation of beavers. We’re a nation of eagles. Beavers are hunted for the pelts. Eagles on the other hand, are the hunters and they enjoy a good beaver sandwich, if you get my drift.

And don’t get me started on the American national anthem. Or my second favorite American song about the 1815 Battle of New Orleans which put a nail in the coffin of Britain’s final attempt to hold Americans down. 

I believe God put the desire for freedom and greatness in the heart of every man and woman in the world. They may not know it. They may never aspire to it. BUT, if they ever get to America and spend a little time with its people, they will leave a different person.

Some say that because America is not in the Bible, it must cease to exist. I strongly disagree. It is there and it’s not obfuscated. Just because you’ve never seen it, doesn’t mean it’s not there. I’ve never seen Antarctica, but I’m pretty sure it’s there. 

The world is getting darker and if the light of America was ever to be extinguished, the world that remained would be a nightmare. In truth, America is the candlestick, and Jesus is the light. Without Jesus, America is Europe, or worse.

America is not an idea.

It is the greatest country in the history of the world. Some prefer to focus on its faults (without looking at their own), but I prefer to look at what can be. America is beautiful and greatly blessed. 

And today we celebrate the fact that 250 years ago, a group of Biblically grounded leaders (most were Christians) decided that a government of the people, by the people and for the people was worth risking life, honor and treasure for.

I have no illusions about our culture. I see what’s out there, but that just makes it easier to evangelize. When we visited Oregon, the downside was that it was (and still is) a very liberal and anti-God state. The upside was that evangelizing the people was like shooting ducks in a barrel. You couldn’t miss!

America will never be a socialist state despite the rhetoric of Zohran Madmani (not a typo), nor will it ever be a communist country, much to the chagrin of some on the far left, because as President Trump said last night… “You can be a communist or you can be a patriot, but you can’t be both!“

And there are too many patriots who will go to the mat to make sure we never go the way of Lenin and Marx. 

Judy and I are blessed to numbered in that group. How about you?

Happy Birthday America!

Our best days are ahead!