An Extraordinary Achievement

An extraordinary achievement. 

Unity: only one, one, one, one, one, one. 

A worthy life and a common goal. 

Today is the 4th of July, a day to remember our founders' gathering to adopt the Declaration of Independence. It was an extraordinary achievement for the colonists to “put differences aside and join together to work for a common goal." and to recognize that "While declaring independence, they also declared interdependence.” Barbara Clark Smith, curator at the National Museum of American History.  

It's easy to focus on what divides us. It's an achievement to focus on what unites us.  In Ephesians 4, Paul tells us to “live a life worthy...be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love. Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace. There is only one body and one Spirit...one Lord, one faith, one baptism; one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all.” 

We are not separate; we are united and interdependent. The colonists put their differences aside to work toward this extraordinary achievement of uniting our states. That was a worthy pursuit. But Paul has a picture of a worthy life. A life that recognized the one-ness of all, over all, through all, and in all.  

We need each other. There is a greater Source of ultimate love and freedom to remember on this Independence Day. It serves us well to remember our worthy pursuit: to lose ourselves in service to others. To consider the rights and well-being of others. To love others as we love ourselves. To love this one Spirit, one Lord, and one God of all that Paul speaks of. 

May we find our freedom in the service to others, to life, and to love. May we remember that life is not about us, but that we are about life. Together. May we consider adopting a declaration of interdependence as we join together to work for a common goal of love. That would be an extraordinary achievement indeed.