Free Indeed: A 250th anniversary reflection

July 1, 2026

Two hundred and fifty years. That is worth stopping for.

In the summer of 1776, a group of men put their names to a declaration that still takes your breath away. "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." They were reaching for something. Something true. Something good. Something they believed came not from kings or parliaments but from the Creator Himself.

Two hundred and fifty years later, we are still reaching. And that reaching, at its best, is a beautiful thing.

The Purpose of Anniversaries

Anniversaries do two things. They invite us to look back with honesty, and they call us to look forward with hope. As a church, we can hold both. We give thanks for 250 years of striving toward ideals that are worth striving toward. We acknowledge, with grace and without bitterness, that the reach has not always matched the grasp. And then we lift our eyes.

Because here is what we know: the deepest longings behind that declaration – the longings for freedom, equality, dignity, and justice – did not originate in Philadelphia in 1776. They are older than any nation. They are written onto the human heart by the One who created it. And they find their ultimate home not in any constitution, but in a Kingdom.

A Kingdom That Fulfills Every Good Thing

The Kingdom of God is the fulfillment of every good thing any nation has ever reached for, and the antithesis of every evil thing any nation has ever done. Every cry for justice finds its answer there. Every longing for true freedom is satisfied there. Every dream for a society where the vulnerable are protected and the truth is honored has an address, and it is not Washington D.C.

This is not criticism of America. It is actually the highest compliment we can pay her. When America is at her best, when her ideals breathe and her people live generously toward one another, she becomes a signpost. A faint but real reflection of something greater. A reminder that we were made for more than what any earthly kingdom can offer.

The founders understood, at least in part, that rights rooted in the Creator cannot be truly revoked by any government. Any government that gives you freedom can also take it away. But the freedom secured by the One who said, "If the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed" (John 8:36) stands on entirely different ground.

Citizens of Heaven, Neighbors on Earth

Paul wrote to the church at Philippi, a Roman colony fiercely proud of its citizenship, and gave them a better anchor: "Our citizenship is in heaven" (Philippians 3:20). He was not telling them to check out of the world. He was telling them where their identity was secured.

That is the gift we carry into this anniversary season. When our deepest citizenship is in heaven, we are free to love this country well, without needing her to be more than she is. We can celebrate without idolizing. We can grieve without despairing. We can be fully present in this world, as neighbors, as servants, as people of goodwill, precisely because we are not looking to this world to save us.

Heavenly citizens make the best earthly neighbors. Because they bring something to the table that no political movement can manufacture hope that does not depend on the next election.

Still Reaching

This July, we light fireworks, gather with family, and give thanks. We honor 250 years of a nation that, at her best, has pointed toward something true. We pray for her, love her, and serve her. And we carry with us the declaration that was written before 1776, sealed not with ink but with blood: that we are chosen, adopted, redeemed, and free. Not because of where we were born, but because of whose we are.

Happy 250^th Birthday, America. We love you. We pray for you. And we know that our truest home is not found on any shore, but in the One who is preparing a place for us that no government can give, and no government can take away.