First Baptist Church of Herndon

What are you celebrating?

Linda Soller | Jul 04, 2022

As July 4^th has come around again, I just want to ask you, what are you celebrating? Is it the birth of our nation, our democratic system of government, the separation of church and state, the land of the free and home of the brave, or is it something else? Did your ancestors come to our shores for religious freedom, as slaves, to escape famine, as prisoners from crowded prisons, as entrepreneurs or refugees? Think about it, because your ancestors came here from somewhere. Proportionately only a very few can claim not to have ancestors who immigrated.  

The Fourth of July is one of those special holidays where people in our Country, of any faith, in any location, coming from anywhere in the world can join together to celebrate all that is good about our Country. There is much to celebrate. But we can also reflect on all that seems wrong, and unfortunately there is much to reflect on. What are you celebrating? What do you need to reflect on? Just as a church is not really the building it’s the people who worship there, a country is not just a geographical location, but it’s the people who live and work together in that location. In both situations all are needed to be complete.

We are so fortunate to be able to celebrate our Country’s successful continuous existence. As another year ends and we begin a new one we face contentious divisive stirrings which threaten the very core of our nation. Our forefathers, you know them, the old guys in waist coats and white wigs, may not have gotten it perfect, but they came pretty darn close. With that thought in mind I leave you with these words. Do you know where these words come from? Do your children?

“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.”

What are you celebrating? 

Be the love in the world  :o)