Created Equal

On this day before we celebrate Independence Day, we can be reminded of our citizenship as Americans, as well as our citizenship in heaven, recognizing that there is much that unites the United States and that we are called as believers in Christ to be united with one another.  In 1st Timothy 1,
we read:
5 Now the purpose of the commandment is love from a pure heart, from a good conscience, and from sincere faith,
6 from which some, having strayed, have turned aside to idle talk,
7 desiring to be teachers of the law, understanding neither what they say nor the things which they affirm.

In this age of social media and enhanced opportunity for mass communication, we have to check our words like never before.  There are many so-called "experts" that abound, yet we have the Bible that can be our filter for the information to which we are exposed.  And, if we're not careful, we can become "puffed up," as the Bible says, with knowledge.  We have to make sure that we are staying humble and compassionate, not allowing our words to tear down other people, but to build them up and to encourage them with the words and Spirit of Christ.

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The Bible encourages us to regard each other through the eyes of Christ and His love and not to exalt
ourselves, but to put the needs of others above our own. Hebrews 10 states:
23 Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for He who promised is faithful.
24 And let us consider one another in order to stir up love and good works,
25 not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as is the manner of some, but exhorting one another, and so much the more as you see the Day approaching.

Well, over the past few days, my wife and I have covered a lot of ground, and we are quite fond of incorporating history into our travels.  As part of our recent trip, we visited the sites of the birthplace and boyhood home of Abraham Lincoln.  Actually, Hodgenville, KY is where the first Lincoln Memorial was built.  President Theodore Roosevelt laid the cornerstone and President William Howard Taft spoke at the dedication.   Interesting fact: there is a cabin inside the memorial that for years was thought to be the actually home in which Lincoln was born; in later years, it was discovered that the age of the structure did not coincide with the timing of the former President's birth in 1809.

Near the top of the Kentucky Memorial are words from Lincoln's Second Inaugural Address, "With malice toward none, with charity for all."

On this day before the Fourth of July, I wanted to spend some time connecting the nation's 16th President to Independence Day.  This year, the Memorial bearing his name in Washington will have greater significance, because it will be the site of an address by the 45th President.

But, Lincoln also made what has come to be known as his Fourth of July speech in 1863, which was actually informally delivered on July 7, just days after significant victories at Gettysburg and Vicksburg.  And, there are words that make you wonder how Lincoln would have fared had Twitter been a thing in 1863.  Take, for instance, this phrase, taken from the speech as published on AbrahamLincolnOnline.org, as the President described Gettysburg: "on this last Fourth of July just passed, when we havae [sic] a gigantic Rebellion, at the bottom of which is an effort to overthrow the principle that all men are created equal, we have the surrender of a most powerful position and army on that very day..."  That's just under 280 characters!

Or how about this one: "on the 4th the cohorts of those who opposed the declaration that all men are created equal, 'turned tail' and ran."

Lincoln was certainly devoted to that phrase from the Declaration of Independence that all men were created equal, a theme that would echo through the Gettysburg Address in November of that year; in fact, that website where I read the speech said that this gave a "foretaste" of what he would say at Gettysburg.  And, at the beginning of this impromptu message on the 7th, Lincoln delivered a powerful reminder:

...on the Fourth of July for the first time in the history of the world a nation by its representatives, assembled and declared as a self-evident truth that "all men are created equal." That was the birthday of the United States of America.

It was a lofty ideal, executed imperfectly because you had imperfect humans involved - but I think, in part, because of that statement and the inalienable rights that were referenced by the declarers, God has had His hand on our nation.

But, we have to question: do we believe that statement?   Consider the weight of the words, created equal.  We were created, uniquely by the hand of Almighty God.  And, all humans possess the evidence of the hand of God - we are not called to show favoritism or to denigrate others; we are all created in the image of the Creator.

That has powerful implications - if we truly believe that, we would uphold the right to life for unborn children.  If we believe that we would not look at other people as somehow less than ourselves.  We would not possess hatred toward another.   We could live out the ideal of what Lincoln spoke: "With malice toward none, with charity for all."

But, equality does not mean uniformity.  Remember, we are equal in the eyes of God, yet everyone is different.  I believe the Bible makes us responsible to appreciate other people, even though they may be different than we are.  Now, that doesn't mean we have to approve of a sinful lifestyle or agree with their faith practice, if they do not believe in Christ.  But, our love for other humans can propel us to demonstrate and relate the love of Christ, with the hope they may be won to Him by the way His people represent Him.