July 2, 2026
Dear Central Church,
I never had to buy fireworks for any holiday when I lived in Bentonville because my friend John was a generous and patriotic pyromaniac! I don’t want to know how much money he spent on fireworks for the Fourth of July, but I know to the penny how much he’s saved me.
My boys and I were happy to help him set off his arsenal of freedom, and I’m happy to report that after multiple campaigns, we lived to tell the tale with all our fingers and both eyes! Given that this year is the semiquincentennial of the United States, I anticipate Hidden Valley subdivision in Cave Springs, AR resembling a war zone after John’s munitions are depleted.
How about you? How will you celebrate the 250th anniversary of our nation? Somewhere in the midst of parades, fireworks, UFC fights, BBQs, and hot dog eating contests, it behooves us to take a moment for national and personal introspection, to recommit ourselves to the ideals of the American experiment. I recently heard a respected historian say in a sober and non-hyperbolic tone that the opening statement of the Declaration of Independence may be the greatest sentence ever written:
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.
This is indeed a tremendous sentence, not only because of its content but in how it galvanized 13 individual colonies and transformed them into a nation. For 250 years, we’ve lived with the tension of what this says aspirationally about America and what it actually looks like to live in America. It would be foolish to think that every American at all times has experienced these aspirations in their daily lives, but Americans have never given up on the vision of this statement. We’ve rolled up our sleeves and worked together, refusing to give up on the nation envisioned by the first Continental Congress.
The work of “forming a more perfect union” reminds me of our spiritual lives: there’s always room for improvement. There is never a moment in this life when the believer is able to declare they are fully like Jesus and the work is complete. Moreover, nostalgia becomes the enemy of spiritual progress. Paul doesn’t call us to look backward with some romanticized memory of our first steps in faith, but urges us to “press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of for me” (Philippians 3:12).
I’ll be 98 years old when the tricentennial of the United States is celebrated. The actuarial tables say I have a 5% chance of being around for that, which means I don’t have time to sit around waiting for someone else to do the work. You don’t either. As dual citizens in the United States and the Kingdom of God, it’s our job to help America live out its aspirations of “life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness” for all people. I think that begins by recognizing the places where the values of our faith and the ideals of our nation clearly intersect. Here are three that we can commit to together as the people of God living in America:
Life – We want to see all life flourish. People of every color and class, born and unborn, are created in the image of God and can flourish in America. One person’s flourishing doesn’t limit or restrict my potential to flourish.
Justice – We want to see communities ordered by fairness, the rule of law, and equality. We want to see laws that protect the innocent and vulnerable, holding accountable those who would disrupt the life and liberty of others.
Peace – We want to see people living in right relationship with each other. More than just the absence of conflict, how do we create communities in which all people have the opportunity to thrive?
As an optimist, I’m inclined to say, “America’s best days are ahead of her.” And yet, there is something that feels disingenuous about that. It feels like a “throwaway” line, similar to how every President has declared, “The state of our union is strong.” I’ve heard Presidents say that in recessions, in times of national crisis, and at moments that just haven’t felt very strong.
Perhaps a more authentic thing to say is this: “America’s best days are up to her.” Which means: They’re up to us.
With Resurrection Hope,
Pastor Mark