A Prayer for Saturday, July 4, 2015

Freedom

O God,

Thank you for the privilege
of living in a free country.

Thank you that as Christians,
even if we were living in a
country that was not free,

we still would be free.

Help us to put the freedoms
we have as Americans

to appropriate use;

help us to put the particular freedoms
we have as Christian Americans

to particularly appropriate use.

Help us to think of ourselves as
Christians who are Americans rather
than as Americans who are Christians;

help us to regard ourselves as
Christian Americans rather
than as American Christians.

Help us to exercise our freedoms

in ways that are inspired and
guided by the love that is
ours in Christ our Lord,

in ways that show that we have
the mind of Christ, who willingly
gave himself up for others,

and in ways that show that
we care more about others
than we care about ourselves.

As Americans, we want our rights.
As Americans, we should want
everyone else to have their rights.

As Christians, we love others
more than we love ourselves
and we are willing to give ourselves
up for the sake of others.

As Christian Americans, we must
want everybody to have every
opportunity to experience life,
liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.

Thank you, O God, that
in Christ we are free.

Help us to use our
freedom to practice love.

Keep us from using our
freedom to practice
anything less than love.

Amen.