BORN FREE

365 Days of Thanksliving — Day 216

Happy Fourth of July, everyone. Pretty special day, wouldn’t you agree — celebrating our nation’s 250th birthday? While I dare not speak for you, I’ll tell ya, I feel lucky to have been born free in the Land of the Free and the Home of the Brave.

As y’all know, I’ve was privileged to have traveled the world-over while in service to our great nation. Let’s see if I can remember em all: Spain, France, Italy, Greece, Egypt, Israel, Monte Carlo, Morocco, Turkey, United Arab Emirates, Trinidad and Tobago, St. Thomas & St. John, Cuba. Wowzers!

I’ve been a few other places too like England, Mexico and Canada. (Does that last one count? Just asking for a friend, hahaha!).

Seriously, though, that’s a lot of places. I'm so lucky, and also so grateful.

In all these places, I’ve seen so many treasures that our beautiful world has to offer, wealth that’ll make your jaw drop, but also, conversely, poverty that eclipses anything I’ve ever encountered here in America. And in all these places, the canopy of freedom we live under has no equal. None!

Have you ever wondered why God caused you to be born here, or to have made this country your home? I have. I’ve asked that “why” question numerous times. Consider this one: “God, why did you send me to this country in this time and this place, to such a good family who’s given me so much?”

Think about it: almost every one of us won the “proverbial lottery”—having been born here, raised here, or at least now currently residing here: in one, if not the most, free nations on planet earth.

God, why not Morocco? Why not Egypt, or Cuba, or Trinidad and Tobago? I’ve never seen such poverty in all the world as I have in these places. Yet, babies are born in these countries every single day. I sometimes ask (but get no answer) why some of us are born or raised here, versus some of these other places.

It’s no wonder why countless millions will do almost anything to get to ‘Merica, because they know that here they’ll have the freedom to pursue the dreams that they otherwise never could.

God has never answered my “why” question, but sometimes I think He’s already given me the answer. In my office, I have a hand towel I was gifted during commencement from Bethel Seminary. It simply says, “Blessed to be a blessing.” I look at it and think about that simple statement every week

Blessed to be a blessing—that’ll preach, won’t it?

Ya know, whether you were born here or are now blessed to call this nation your home, freedom is such a gift, isn’t it? Our freedoms haven’t been given from Washington, D.C., or even any document, but from the One who died to make us free. About Him, the Apostle Paul said it eloquently:

“For freedom, Christ set us free” (Galatians 5:1, CSB).

Home of the Free… what a blessing it is to call this country our temporal home.