“Stand fast therefore in the liberty wherewith Christ hath made us free, and be not entangled again with the yoke of bondage.” Galatians 5:1
Last week we learned how the colony at Jamestown was founded. This week is one of my favorite subjects to discuss. In the early 1600s, a group of Christians started seeing their freedoms being eroded by their government in Britain. Wanting freedom to worship as they pleased and desiring to see their children raised in godly homes they started making a plan.
Their story is so full and rich, I need a few weeks to share it all with you.
See, I grew up with an historian and every Thanksgiving my parents discussed and taught us all about the Pilgrims. One of my favorite vacations of all time was when we traveled from Toronto, Canada to every New England State to learn our US history. I was born in Michigan but my parents immigrated to Canada when I was 9. Canada is my home. The home I remember. America is my land of birth. The land that I love. (Of course, as a 20 year old, the only clear picture I had from the Plantation is this cute cat.
Back to the Pilgrims. They actually believed a lot of the same doctrines as Puritans but unlike the Puritans who wanted to reform the Church of England from within, the Pilgrims wanted to leave. Pilgrims were initially called Separatists because they left the Church of England. They could not, though, just walk down the street and establish churches.
The Church of England was established in the 1500s.
Henry VIII wanted a divorce from his first wife but the Roman Catholic Church would not grant it. Henry being Henry, basically decided to throw a tantrum about this to get his way. He and his cronies started the Church of England and set him as the head. This meant the divorce would be finalized (Henry VIII had 6 wives eventually).
Of course, this meant that Henry VIII made sure the Church of England was THE only church people should attend. Catholics had to practice in secret and people like the Separatists (Pilgrims) had a decision to make. Knowing they could not reform the catholic practices brought into the Church of England, they decided to leave England and move to Holland.
Here they could practice freely but in time they came to see that their children were being influenced by the non-Christian Dutch people and so their quest for a new land began.
Two things strike me here.
The pilgrims desired to follow the Bible alone and not man’s teachings. They left England for freedom of worship. Secondly, they desired to see their children raised without influences of the world but influences from THE WORD. Can you imagine leaving your life for worlds unknown?
God has moved us often in our 31 years of marriage but always we knew because He was leading we could have a joy in each new adventure. He has proved Himself true in not only giving us homes to live in and jobs to work but He has given us new church families each time that has helped us to grow. Our children have had a wealth of experiences and thanks to social media we can keep up with the friends we have met along the way.
When we follow God, hardships might occur (stay tuned for the Pilgrims’ hardships) but He never leaves us. We can always find joy in the moment and a reason to sing praises about Him!
“But thou, O man of God, flee these things; and follow after righteousness, godliness, faith, love, patience, meekness.” I Timothy 6:11
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