Pursuing our Ideals

Dear Pali Pres Family,

As we all know, this past week our country celebrated its birth, which took place on July 4, 1776. For nearly 250 years we as a people have worked to live up to that famous first line of our founding document, the Declaration of Independence: We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.

As a nation, we continue to pursue this ideal and seek to understand and live out what it means for everyone to be “created equal” with rights that cannot be taken away. Throughout our history this pursuit has often been a struggle, but one that is no doubt worth all our efforts and prayers.

Interestingly enough, this past week also marked the birth of a great American who spent much of his life helping our nation live up to the ideals proclaimed in the Declaration of Independence—Thurgood Marshall. In the landmark 1954 case of Brown v. Board of Education, Marshall made the argument that the doctrine of “separate but equal” was a contradiction in terms. “Equal,” Marshall said, “means getting the same thing, at the same time, and in the same place.” Marshall became the first African American appointed to the Supreme Court in 1967.

As I reflect on our nation’s history and identity, I am filled with gratitude to God for our blessings and for the great people—such as Thurgood Marshall—who have come before us. I am also filled with prayer and great hope that the Lord will help our nation move into an even brighter future, one filled with equality, justice, and freedom for all.

Yours in Christ,

Pastor Matt