Rejoicing in Liberty

Normally what I write here is something I have been thinking about or a thought that a current event has triggered or it may be that I want to share an experience.

Yesterday I finished a book that I started some months ago "John Adams" by David McCullough which has been a vastly different experience for me from other books I've read. It has not only transported me to a time long before my birth, but it has opened up history for me in a way that helped me to experience important events that I was unable to experience at the time they happened. Reading this book has lifted me to a higher plane in my appreciation and love of country and brought to life some of those who were instrumental in the all-important creation of our republic, particularly John Adams himself. This being the 4th of July I feel moved to share a small portion of the things I've learned about him from this read.

Previously in this blog I have shared thoughts on my hometown Washington, D.C. Possibly because of my place of birth, I have often been led to contemplate the creation of our nation (which I believe was divinely inspired) and the kind of men and women in whom we place trust as our nations leaders.

John Adams was a man of great moral discipline. He was a man who was totally devoted to his wife and his family and remained faithful to them every whit. He was not a perfect man, but worked diligently to try and overcome his defects and errors. He was subject to temptation and illness and sorrow just as we all are. He used his time wisely. He read voraciously. He believed in God.

"I believe in God and in his wisdom and benevolence, and I cannot conceive that such a Being could make such a species as the human merely to live and die on this earth. If I did not believe in a future state, I should believe in no God. This universe, this all, this ["totality"] would appear with all its swelling pomp, a boyish firework."

His library was vast. His writings are a national treasure. He loved our republic with an uncommon depth. He was divinely inspired in the great good he accomplished in our behalf. I feel I owe my lifetime of freedom and peace to his (and many others) tenacity in standing up for our God-given rights, setting aside all personal risk to himself. He is front and center in the painting by John Trumbull, "The Signing of the Declaration of Independence" for a reason.

I was privileged to stand in the very room depicted in this painting on the 4th of July, 2000. Independence Hall, Philadelphia. It was a spiritual experience that I will always remember.

John Adams, along with his friend Thomas Jefferson, died on the 50th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence ~ July 4, 1826. Two days prior to his death he had been asked to write a toast that would be read at the Quincy, Massachusetts 4th of July celebration. The words he gave them were "Independence forever!" Asked if he would like to add something more, he replied, "Not a word."

It's 12:50 AM July 4, 2009. The fireworks have already started. Heaven's artillery is pounding away outside my window. Thunder and lightning. What a great way to start the celebration! Happy Fourth!