June 7, 2013 (Friday)
God bless America, land that I love”– Irving Berlin
On this day, June 7, in 1776, Richard Henry Lee, delegate to the (First) Continental Congress, introduced a resolution for independence, seconded by John Adams.
Lee’s resolution declared: “That these United Colonies are, and of right out to be, free and independent States, that they are absolved from all allegiance to the British Crown, and that all political connection between them and the State of Great Britain is, and ought to be, totally dissolved; that measures should be immediately taken for procuring the assistance of foreign powers, and a Confederation be formed to bind the colonies more closely together.”
Delegates from six of the colonies were not ready to vote, so while they were waiting for instructions from home, the delegates appointed a committee to draw up a formal “Declaration of Independence.” Five men were elected, and they decided that Thomas Jefferson would do the leg work of actually writing the document. It was formally adopted on July 4, 1776. Every American knows how important this date is; it marks the birth of a nation. And we enjoy celebrating it every year.
Devotional Thought: Lady Liberty stands in New York’s harbor, welcoming visitors and those who desire to become a part of this nation. She stands upon a pedestal inscribed, “Give me your tired, your poor, Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free, The wretched refuse of your teeming shore. Send these, the homeless, tempest-tost to me, I lift my lamp beside the golden door!” Those words of Emma Lazarus in 1883 remind us of the words of the Lord Jesus Christ: “Come unto me, all ye that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.” Throughout its history, America has seen fit to allow all citizens the freedom to worship according to the dictates of their own conscience. May it ever be so. Aren’t you glad to have this freedom, purchased with the blood of so many who sacrificed so much? Freedom isn’t free.