PASTOR DAVE’S MUSINGS FROM THE HEARTLAND

July 4, 2021

JUST ANOTHER 4^TH?

July 4, 2021, will not be just another Fourth of July!  For many it will be a sign of the ending of the long dark night of the Covid-19 Pandemic.  We can see the light at the end of the tunnel.  There is hope that we may be returning to a new normal very soon.  All over the place people are breaking forth from the restrictions under which they have lived for almost a year and half.  Freedom is on the horizon.

However, even as we celebrate a new day dawning we pause to remember the ordeal we have been through.  We remember, some personally, the more than 600,000 persons who died from the virus in the United States.  We remember all the families who were not able to be with their loved ones during their last hours on this earth, while they sat alone in rooms in nursing facilities and when they had to go to the hospital.   We remember all the businesses, especially small businesses, that have closed forever and the number of workers who found themselves without a paycheck.  We remember how churches, synagogues, mosques, organizations, clubs, and other community groups struggled to stay relevant.  We remember all that once was but will never be again.

While it is obvious that the circumstances around the first Fourth of July and this year’s fourth are quite different, the feelings surround them may have some similarity.  In 1776 the Founding Fathers felt encouraged that they could see a light at the end of their tunnel of seeking independence from Great Britain.  As we gather we are encouraged that we can see a light at the end of our tunnel.  The Founding Fathers carried with them the pain of years of hardship and loss.  We carry with us the hardships and losses that we have experienced and that our family and friends have endured.  The Founding Fathers were concerned that things could still go wrong.  We are concerned that a new variant or some obstacle will raise its ugly head and bring a setback to the reopening of our country.

As Joshua was nearing the end of his life he called the tribes of Israel together at Shechem.  He reminded them that since the time of their forefather Abraham their God had been with them.  When they were in bondage in Egypt, God raised up Moses to free them.  During the forty years in the wilderness God was there to meet their needs, even when they grumbled.  More recently, God had been with them as they sought to conquer the Promised Land.  Now their journey from bondage to freedom was finally over.  A new day was dawning.

Then Joshua invited the people to renew the covenant that God had originally made with Abraham.  Joshua charged the people “Now therefore revere the Lord and serve him in sincerity and in faithfulness; put away the gods that your ancestors served beyond the River and in Egypt, and serve the Lord.  Now if you are unwilling to serve the Lord, choose this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your ancestors served in the region beyond the River or the gods of the Amorites in whose land you are living; but as for me and my household, we will serve the Lord.” (Joshua 24:14-15)

This Fourth of July weekend Americans across our nation will be renewing their commitment to be citizens of this great county.  This weekend also might be a fitting time, as we look forward to the light at the end of our pandemic tunnel, to pause  and reflect on how God has been with us this last year and half, and then in response recommit ourselves to serve the Lord.