Read
“But whoever does what is true comes to the light, so that it may be clearly seen that his works have been carried out in God.”
John 3:21
Reflect
Freedom is a wonderful, universal thing. Every person — in fact, every creature — yearns to be free. And the lack of freedom — oppression — tends to eventually yield universal results. People who are oppressed will eventually push back, often violently.
In this country we just celebrated our famed “push back” on the 4th of July. That day formalized what had already started — a revolution by the American colonies against the British crown. But the fighting wasn’t really the start of the struggle. Part of the colonists’ yearning for freedom was fueled by what they had heard in the pews of their churches. Preachers like George Whitefield who were part of the First Great Awakening were also strong advocates for freedom from tyranny. Their efforts from the pulpit earned them the nickname, “the black-robed regiment” — an epithet used by the British that reflected how they viewed the influence of the clergy upon the American war effort.
After the Revolution, the Church continued to thrive in the newly formed United States of America. While there was no formal denomination, there was a strong embracing of religion, and in particular, Christianity. Even the Church of England’s descendent in this country — the Episcopal Church — moved forward without penalty from the government or the people.
Contrast this with the French Revolution, the beginning of which is celebrated today on Bastille Day. In 1789, an angry mob stormed the fortress that held many political prisoners, and the event helped spur a revolution that lasted for 10 years. While the French were clearly influenced by elements of the American Revolution (which had ended just three years before), they were also clearly not influenced by America’s religious underpinnings. Instead of embracing the teachings of the Bible, they ended up banning the book. And instead of embracing the Church, they often forced clergy to recant the vows of their ordination, and they instituted the state religion of “The Cult of Reason” (which was later replaced by “The Cult of the Supreme Being”).
The result was literally a bloody mess. More than 16,000 people were executed during the French “Reign of Terror,” and at least another 10,000 died in prison. While the Tree of Liberty was a symbol of the American Revolution, for many people the item most closest associated with the French Revolution is the guillotine. The absence of God or even of decency led the French to replace one despot with something that was in many ways worse.
OK, so this is a lot of depressing history. How does it apply to us today? For the first time in American history, fewer than half of all people attend church even semi-regularly. The principals of God aren’t having a deep effect on our culture, so we’re creeping ever-closer to a society where godly values (or even common decency) are not practiced or appreciated. It’s up to us — each of us individually and together — to start moving that needle back in the other direction.
Today you will likely see the evidence of the encroaching darkness. Road rage. Profane lyrics in music. Vulgar language. Questionable morals in movies and on TV. Violence in the streets. The list is too long, and the list of solutions is very short. It’s simply the love of Christ. In John 3:19, Jesus tells us that, “And this is the judgment: the light has come into the world, and people loved the darkness rather than the light because their works were evil.” But two verses later, Jesus gives us the antidote: “But whoever does what is true comes to the light, so that it may be clearly seen that his works have been carried out in God.”
Today, give thanks to the Lord for the freedom that He has given you, and for the freedom that comes from faith in Christ. Also ask Him for opportunities to be his light in a dark world. If each of us carries that light daily, eventually we will see the love of God once again begin to penetrate our world more fully.
Reflection copyright © 2021 Doug DeBolt.
Scripture quotations are from The Holy Bible, English Standard Version® (ESV®), copyright © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
