"On the Fourth"

On the Fourth

Are we proud as a Nation,
United under the sun,
Do we glory in what we have done,
And in the lengths we have run.

Or do we glory in Christ,
His unselfish sacrifice,
Does our identity in Him suffice,
When He has paid so high a price?

Whatever we have become,
Riches brought up to sum,
Its a blessing from above,
From the untold measure of His love.

Its not about ourselves,
How high we rise,
How deep we delve,
How we come up in size.

We are here for a purpose,
Known and planned by God,
We can't be more or less,
Because of the worlds applause.

Lauren East Note; I wrote this poem a while back, and what I think I was trying to get across then was this. We are citizens of Gods Kingdom, we have a heavenly home. Yes, we can be thankful for the peace and wealth God has blessed America with right now; and we can be patriotic. But to beware thinking "look how far we've brought ourselves", or to make our glory this country-or any country. We are to glory in Christ, in the cross; He must be our only boast. One of the things that really gets me is when I see a car sporting that notorious bumper sticker, "American Pride" or "The Power of Pride". It just goes to show how proud the American people are, when I see one of those bumper stickers I want to shout"Don't you know pride is the root of all evil?" Of course there is a good sort of pride, but it is different. I think we must judge the fruit, does your pride about America take you closer to the Lord with thankfulness? Or does it fill your head with vanity about our position in the world? Just things to think about today. Have a wonderful Fourth!