Thursday, July 18, 2019
Do what is good and run from evil so that you may live! Then the Lord God of Heaven’s Armies will be your helper, just as you have claimed. Hate evil and love what is good; turn your courts into true halls of justice. Perhaps even yet the Lord God of Heaven’s Armies will have mercy on the remnant of his people. Amos 5:14-15
I’m
drawing on a memory that is from about 60 years ago (which is a bit dangerous,
considering I have trouble remembering what I had for breakfast yesterday). Nonetheless, it is a memory that returns often. The singer was Kate Smith, and the patriotic
song I first heard gave me goosebumps.
Irving
Berlin wrote God Bless America during World War I in
1918. It was updated in World War II and
became Kate Smith’s signature song[3]. I loved it when I first heard it in the mid-1950’s,
and I got weary of it after September 11, 2001, when it became the music to
accompany the seventh-inning stretch at ball games. Berlin wrote and updated the song as a
contribution to developing a culture of peace.
It has become something of a marching song to support the troops in
wartime.
Let me be
quick to say I do love this country (lest I be just as quickly invited to
leave). I love so much of what this nation’s
founding has as its base, political and religious freedom, and the open opportunity
tradition that offers everyone the right to pursue life, liberty, and
happiness.
(By the
way…you have the right to pursue it, but you must catch
it for yourself…there’s no guarantee it will be handed to you on a
silver platter!)
I believe
there are (at least) three ways you can sing Berlin’s song; you can sing it as favorite,
a filler, or as a prayer.
Favorite
There are
songs we just like because they’re easy to remember and everybody else seems to
know the words too. They’re like
drinking songs, making you smile and feel good when everyone joins-in. Some of the favorites
when it comes to the hymns at church are like this, which is why we wear them
out.
Filler
At the ballpark
you need something to take your mind off how boring some games can be…or at
least how much your back is aching after sitting on a metal bench for 3½ hours. Filling the seventh inning stretch with a
rousing patriotic marching song tends to bring you back to the ballpark to buy $4
hotdogs.
Prayer
This is a
lot harder than favorites and fillers.
When you really mean what the words say in this song, you’re putting
your life on the line. To ask God to BLESS
America, you’re asking God to take over and make this country what HE
sees as best, not for the sake of America, or any political ideology, but for the
sake of God’s Kingdom. The reason for
that is God’s Kingdom supersedes any earthly nation, kingdom or ideas.
This
prayer is no baseball theme song, it’s a serious offering of who you are to be
used in God’s plan. When you ask God to stand
beside her, and guide her, through the
night with a light from above, you’re not asking God to steer this
ship toward invincibility from enemies, but to the position of holiness to do God’s
will. This isn’t rubbing the good luck
charm to stay on a winning streak; this is bowing before holy God to report for
duty.
For You Today
God bless America. If you
honestly love this land, and all the godly principles upon which she has stood,
sing the song as a prayer.
Go to VIDEO
[1]
Title Image: Pixabay.com Unless otherwise noted, Scripture used from
The
New Living Translation©
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