Happy Birthday America!
Adapted by Larry d. Wright
HAPPY BIRTHDAY AMERICA! You will be 232 years old on Friday! That’s a long time for a nation to remain free, but when you examine history, you’re just an infant among the nations. Nations like Egypt, China, Japan, Rome, or even Greece had much longer histories but they were not so free.
HAPPY BIRTHDAY AMERICA! You have a rich spiritual history that continues to influence the world today.
· My County, ‘Tis of Thee was written by a Baptist minister, Samuel Francis Smith.
· The Pledge of Allegiance was written in 1892 by a Baptist minister, Francis Bellamy.
· The words “In God We Trust” are traced to the efforts of Rev. W.R. Watkinson.
· Rev. John Witherspoon, a Presbyterian minister was a signer of the Declaration of Independence.
HAPPY BIRTHDAY AMERICA! You’re entire history has spanned only 4 generations but your impact on the world is a testimony for the freedom of every person and an appeal for human rights! When Thomas Jefferson died, Abraham Lincoln was a young man of 17. When Lincoln was assassinated, Woodrow Wilson was a boy of 8. By the time the nation mourned the death of President Wilson, Ronald Reagan was a boy of 12.
Even though you have a short history, God has richly blessed you. You are the richest nation in the world. Your natural resources are still the greatest of all nations but your wealth is not your lands and resources. It is your people.
HAPPY BIRTHDAY AMERICA! I pray that you have learned valuable lessons from your past successes and mistakes. American patriots shed their blood so you can walk into the future a much wiser nation.
· You began by breaking free from British shackles.
· You survived a brutal civil war that nearly cost you your national soul.
· You fought and won against two foreign enemies on soil not your own because you believed that fascism was evil.
· You stood against Communist aggression in Korea and Viet Nam.
· You have drawn a line in the sand against militant Islamic fascism that will stop short of nothing less than world domination.
HAPPY BIRTHDAY AMERICA! You are a great nation with a great history. When you were very young, the famous French political philosopher, Alexis deToucqueville visited your shores to learn the secret which enabled a handful of people to defeat the mighty British Empire. He traveled across your vast land from shore to shore, looking for greatness in your harbors and rivers, your fertile fields and boundless forests. He studied your schools, your military, your Congress, your Constitution—but still he could not find the secret. It was not until he went into your churches and heard your pulpits “aflame with righteousness” that he found the answer. When he returned to Europe, he wrote this caveat: “America is great because America is good, and if America ever ceases to be good, America will cease to be great.”
HAPPY BIRTHDAY AMERICA! Your greatness is a result of God’s goodness and your generosity in sharing His blessings. You have given untold millions in aid to the impoverished countries of the world. You have sent missionaries to the ends of the earth to feed hungry bodies and starving souls. When tragedy or disaster strikes, you are the first to arrive with help.
HAPPY BIRTHDAY AMERICA! The noble lady of liberty in New York harbor, a gift from the French, stands proudly with her flame lifted high for all to see. She inspires even those of us who were born within your borders as she symbolizes freedom and democracy. The line from the poem “The New Colossus” by Emma Lazarus inscribed on a plaque at the base of the statue advertises your invitation to anyone who longs to be free: “Give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses yearning to breathe free…”
HAPPY BIRTHDAY AMERICA! Your flag waves proudly in the free air—a symbol of all that makes you great. She may grace the sky at a ball game, political rally, concert or worship service or when she drapes the coffin of a patriot she instills pride and pleasure in the hearts of a grateful nation.
Enjoy your birthday AMERICA! I pray that you will be blessed by the Author of freedom and the Giver of redemption. And I pray that you will live to celebrate many more birthdays in the future. HAPPY BIRTHDAY AMERICA!
