250 Years and Still Here
Today, July 4th, the United States of America turns 250 years old, which means she is both old and young. By our estimation, 250 years is a long time, but in the history of the world, and especially in light of eternity, it’s a speck.
And that this speck is what it is should make us both humbled and hopeful.
We should be humbled, in my view, because America is the greatest country in the world, and the ‘American experiment’ is still a worthwhile endeavor. That doesn’t mean our country’s history is flawless — what nation’s can be? But it does mean we recognize the blessing of a constitutional republic, as Lincoln later put it, “government of the people, by the people, for the people.”[1]
Benjamin Franklin embodied the same kind of measured optimism when he signed the Constitution in 1787. At 81 years old, Franklin penned his name to the fourth of four founding documents of our nation, and in a galvanizing speech he said:
I consent, sir, to this Constitution because I expect no better and because I am not sure that it is not the best.
The aging Franklin said the document was not perfect, but, to his knowledge, it was the best swing ever taken before.[2] It is a true republic, as Franklin later quipped, “A republic, if you can keep it.”
And that is why we should be hopeful.
As citizens of heaven, and as we seek our better country, we are not of this world, but we have been sent into it … into this world, into our United States. Our calling is not merely to keep a republic, but to seek the good of our cities (and nation) as witnesses of Jesus.[3]
I believe that God is not done with America. There is more fruit to come, not because of her politics, but because his church is still here.
May God bless America through us.
[1] This was Abraham Lincoln’s concluding line in “The Gettysburg Address,” delivered November 19, 1863. (Accessed: https://www.abrahamlincolnonline.org/lincoln/speeches/gettysburg.htm)
[2] For a fascinating profile on Benjamin Franklin, See Tom Holland and Dominic Sandbrook, “Franklin | Revenge of the American Genius (Part 2),” The Rest Is History, (Episode 684 , Sunday 28 June 2026).(Accessed: https://therestishistory.com/episodes/revenge-of-the-american-genius-part-2)
[3] Philippians 3:20; Hebrews 11:16; John 17:18; Jeremiah 29:7; Acts 1:8
