America… the land of the free and the home of the brave. The land of opportunity. What is America? Is it a people? A place? An experiment? Is it just a dream or an ideal? The beauty of that question is that we could probably ask every American that question and get a different answer. America is a land full of diversity. There are people of different races, religions and worldviews. There are people with different backgrounds, jobs and families. But what unites us? What is the thing that makes us all American? Well, that gets back to the original question. What is America?

You see, when you look at other nations throughout history you will see many that were founded on a specific people group. The nation of Israel was founded on a specific family… the descendants of Abraham. But America wasn’t founded on a person or a people group. America is a land founded on ideas. Those ideas run through our founding documents. And those documents, as impressive as they are, are simply the words of men, brilliant men, but ordinary men just the same… full of flaws and inconsistencies like you and me. And yet, many of the ideas in those great documents did not originate with them. These founding fathers, as diverse as they were in their thoughts and beliefs, were influenced by the ideas contained in the Bible.

The Declaration of Independence famously states, “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.” These truths are supposed to be self-evident. It should be obvious to everyone that these rights- these ideas that we hold so tightly to, come from God. They are his gift to us. We cannot create them. We cannot give them away. They belong to us because God has given them to us.

America is a land founded on these ideas. And at certain moments we get to pause to remember and celebrate those who valiantly put their lives at risk for us to defend these ideas at all costs. Perhaps it was put best in 1917 when William Tyler Page wrote the American’s Creed:

I believe in the United States of America as a government of the people, by the people, for the people; whose just powers are derived from the consent of the governed, a democracy in a republic, a sovereign Nation of many sovereign States; a perfect union, one and inseparable; established upon those principles of freedom, equality, justice, and humanity for which American patriots sacrificed their lives and fortunes.

I therefore believe it is my duty to my country to love it, to support its Constitution, to obey its laws, to respect its flag, and to defend it against all enemies.

It is our commitment to these ideas that make us truly American. May America shine bright among the nations of the world, but not for the sake of selfish gain, but for the glory of God, the Creator. May it’s citizens celebrate their God given rights and may God bless the United States of America.