Our country is 238 years old. We have been a world leader, almost since our first days as a democracy.  
Only 12 more years and we will celebrate a true milestone — 250 years. I was almost 17 when the bicentennial was recognized. I am hopeful, the Lord willing, that I will be around for that 250th.
It’s hard for me to imagine 250 years. Even as a student of history, I know that we are talking about times, people and places of which I know so little. And when you go past U.S. history to world history, you take even deeper steps into the unknown.
Then, there is this little matter of God.  
Of course, I am being facetious (and I hope not irreverent) when I say it that way. According to Christian theology derived from the Bible, God is eternal and infinite. That means that he neither has beginning nor end, and that he has no limits — and my mind boggles at the thought.
Christians use such terms as almighty, omniscient, holy and trinity to describe God. The truth is that he is all of that and more. In many ways, God is beyond the comprehension of frail human beings. And yet, we are convinced that he is real and cares about those whom he has created. He is all-powerful, yet loving. He truly is a good God, one whom we can trust.
A wonderful book title from a previous generation was, “Your God is Too Small.” I think that is the case with so many in our time. We often hear others speak of “the man upstairs.” I must tell you that I hope and trust that he is more than that. Men and women have let me down (for the record, I have let others down). That is our nature. None of us is perfect.
But I believe God is perfect. He is reliable and faithful. He is both good and great. He is to be loved and served forever.  
I hope you had a good Independence Day. I am grateful to live in the greatest nation on Earth. But I am even more grateful that I will one day live in an even greater one, “a house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens…” There, everything will be made right by the only one who can do that.
Until then, we worship him. And that is something that we all can do.