I have given you a land for which you did not labor.
—Joshua 24:13
The last sentence of the Declaration of Independence runs: “For the support of this Declaration, with a firm reliance on the protection of Divine Providence, we mutually pledge to each other our Lives, our Fortunes, and our sacred Honor.”
At enormous personal cost, fifty-six men signed their names below that sentence.
We had no skin in that game but have been the recipients of its bounty. It is reminiscent of what God did for Israel, giving them “flourishing cities [they] did not build, houses filled with all kinds of good things [they] did not provide, wells [they] did not dig, and vineyards and olive groves [they] did not plant” (Dt 6:10–11).
On this Independence Day, let us thank God and remember those who have gone before and endowed us with innumerable blessings.
Blessings taken for granted
reveal a thankless heart.