This week Canada celebrates its 157th year since confederation. We join in celebrating this land and people that God has given to us. Canada is part of our mission. I strongly believe that Christian Life Assembly is called to love, to pray for, and to express Christ to our nation.
Canada’s history and culture were (and are) significantly influenced by Christianity. The Christian call to justice, benevolence, education and ethics laid the foundation for our law and order. It worked its way into our work ethic. The first schools and universities were all started by Christian workers. The first hospitals and universal health care itself were started by followers of Jesus Christ. Government principles that formed our governance models were imbued with Christian values that emphasized human dignity and common good. The Judaeo – Christian social teaching not only laid down the foundation for law, the Canadian Charter of Human Rights and Freedoms but also drove reforms like women’s suffrage, abolition of slavery, and labour exploitation. The Church of Jesus Christ in all of its forms have worked with the poor, those broken by life and society and often left on the cultural sidelines. This work embraces both hope for healing and reconciliation as well as assistance towards a preferred future. When Jesus said, “I am the way, the truth and the life” we believe His Gospel can do what nothing else in society can do, forgive and create a new beginning.
Even today, in a multi-ethnic and multi-faith Canada, the Christian roots of Canada remain and continue to influence the culture. We see this in the Christmas and Easter celebrations that take place across the nation, in every village and town. At CLA we find many immigrating to Canada searching for traditional Christian values and faith. Christians schools are growing exponentially. Many people of all generations remain open to learning about the Bible and the Christian faith. This is illustrated by the growth of the Alpha program. Because there is an ethnical vacuum in our nation, recent studies have shown Generation Z looking for a moral compass and concluding there must be more to life than what is being taught by the secular culture or media. Christianity is not simply historical, it’s a way of life that improves our soul, families and society.
On Sunday we’ll read from the preamble to the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms that acknowledges the “supremacy of God”. We will sing from our national anthem, a prayer, “God keep our land”. I’m also reminded of the moto for Canada which hangs below our Coat of Arms; “He shall have dominion from sea to sea” taken directly from Psalm 72:8. These reminders encourage me to pray for my nation, to be a witness and a good citizen. This weekend we celebrate all these things!
I encourage you to stay for our picnic after the 10 am service. Bring a lawn chair. Enjoy the beautiful weather and the church family.
