Declaration of Dependence
"When in the course of human events..."
Those are the familiar opening words of the Declaration of Independence, formally titled "The unanimous Declaration of the thirteen united States of America." That historic document was adopted unanimously by the 56 delegates to the Second Continental Congress in Philadelphia on July 4, 1776. The declaration laid out in great detail the case for America's revolution against King George III and England.
To be honest, I don't remember ever having to read the Declaration of Independence in school. Maybe we did, but I don't recall it. I do remember having to memorize the preamble to the constitution in the 8th grade (and I can still quote it: "We the people of the United States, in order to form a more perfect union..."). But of course, that's a different document altogether. The U.S. Constitution, which was not ratified until 1787, effectively set up the republic that we now know of as the United States of America. But what happened in Philadelphia on that first "independence day" was more of an explanation to the world why the thirteen colonies were rebelling, and no longer regarded themselves as under obligation to the British crown.
Perhaps the most famous line from America's most famous document is the first sentence in the Declaration's own preamble: "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."
It is interesting how the founding fathers--including Thomas Jefferson, who wrote the original words of the Declaration--were declaring their independence from the king of England, while at the same time recognizing that their rights were endowed to them (and us) by a God who created them. And those rights were understood to be "inalienable."
By definition, inalienable means something cannot be taken away, surrendered or transferred. Those rights can't be "alienated" from us, by government, because government did not give them to us in the first place. They come from God.
So in a strange way, that document declared our independence from the British government, while at the same time recognizing our dependence on God. By establishing up front that He is our Creator, it also assumes that all we have comes from Him, including the very breath of life. And thus, we are accountable to Him for how we live our lives.
And here we are, 248 years (and one day) later, and we need to be reminded of that truth more than ever. The God who made us--who created us all equal--gave us the right to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. But implicit with those endowments is a stewardship of our lives back to Him. As the apostle Paul said before the Areopagus, "...for in Him we live and move and have our being." (Acts 17:28). Or, as he wrote in his epistle to the Romans, "If we live, we live for the Lord; and if we die, we die for the Lord. So, whether we live or die, we belong to the Lord." (Romans 14:8)
We live for Him, because we belong to Him. And that means we depend on Him. That's what faith is all about.
So let me encourage you this Independence Day weekend to declare your dependence on the God who gives you life, and even better than that, life everlasting, through His Son Jesus Christ. May you experience the joy that only Christ brings as you pursue happiness in this life.
Have a safe and blessed weekend. I'm praying for you, and I look forward to seeing you Sunday.
--Pastor Ken
