It’s early 1775 and it’s a time for deciding. The American colonies are at a crossroads. Tensions are threatening to boil over. It’s becoming harder and harder to sit on the fence. Some British subjects are choosing to stay loyal to the crown, vowing to do so no matter what comes. Others are preparing to engage in all-out rebellion, ready to take up arms against the British in pursuit of independence. The Boston Tea Party was over a year ago and the first battle of the American Revolution in coming in a matter of months.
You must choose. Will you be a loyalist or a rebel?
Benjamin Franklin has made his decision. He has chosen to join his fellow colonists who are pushing for independence. It has been a hard decision for Franklin. He loves Britain, but he has become fully convinced that the American patriots are right. They have been wronged and the king has done nothing in response to their many pleas for him to put things right. After years of loyal service to the crown, Franklin has thrown in his lot with the revolutionaries.
Ben Franklin has a son, William. William, too, must decide. He loves his family, but he also loves his country. Like many other colonists, he is torn. What comes first? Loyalty to his king or loyalty to his father?
William is the governor of New Jersey, and in January of 1775, he addresses the New Jersey Legislature and leaves no question in anyone’s mind about where his loyalties lie:
“You have now pointed out to you, gentlemen, two roads, one evidently leading to peace, happiness, and a restoration of the public tranquility—the other inevitably conducting you to anarchy, misery, and all the horrors of a civil war.”
The American colonies have reached a crossroads and the Franklins—father and son—have chosen to travel different roads. One has chosen to honor the king, the other to join the rebellion.
Father and son have always been close. William is Ben Franklin’s first child and his only son to survived to adulthood. Over the years, William has helped his father with experiments; he has assisted with the production of Franklin’s famous Poor Richard’s Almanac; he was even there when his father conducted his famous kite experiment, demonstrating that lighting is a form of electricity.
Ben and William are more than just father and son. They are friends and allies and for much of his life, William has been content to live in his father’s long shadow.
In 1762, Ben and William both attended King George III’s coronation. Soon after, young William was appointed Royal Governor of New Jersey, mostly due to his father’s influence and good reputation. And William made a good governor. He served faithfully for over a decade and helped improve transportation, agriculture, and education.
But as the political situation in the colonies has become increasingly complicated, William no longer finds it easy to follow in his father’s footsteps.
After William’s speech about the “two roads” and his clear declaration of which road he intends to take, his father travels to New Jersey to confront his son and try to persuade him to join the patriots. Ben even unofficially offers his son a position as a general in the brand-new continental army. But William rejects his father’s offer and accuses him of setting the colonies aflame. For once, father and son do not see eye-to-eye, a fact that will become even more apparent as the conflict builds.
William’s loyalty to the British inspires him to join in the war effort. He uses his connections to gather information and pass it along to British intelligence. They are only too happy to accept his aid. But in January of 1776, William’s covert operations are uncovered by a rebel officer who intercepts a packet of letters that divulge William’s actions as a spy. William is arrested, sent to Connecticut, and thrown in jail.
He pleads for mercy. When William’s wife becomes seriously ill, he asks for permission to go visit her. But he is denied. William’s sister asks for leniency on his behalf and she too is ignored. Ben, disgusted by his son’s work for the enemy, does nothing to help him or advocate for his release.
Finally, in 1778, William is released. But he has no one to go back to. His father has practically disowned him. His wife is dead. William is alone. He goes to New York, which is still occupied by the British, and quickly organizes a spy network made up of loyal colonists. They call themselves the “Associated Loyalists” and they employ guerilla tactics to disrupt the operations of the American rebels. William’s organization becomes officially sanctioned by the British government in 1780, but not long after, the war comes to an unofficial end at the battle of Yorktown. The British Empire has lost the war to a ragtag group of colonial patriots.
Like many loyalists, once William sees the writing on the wall, he moves to England, where he lives out the rest of his life.
Ben Franklin helps negotiate the terms of the Treaty of Paris, which means the official end of the war and Britain’s official recognition of colonial independence. Ben Franklin is a winner; his son William is a loser.
The year after the treaty is signed, William writes to his father in an attempt to mend their estranged relationship. He misses the companionship they once enjoyed and asks his father to let them rekindle their once-warm friendship. But even as he expresses his desire to reconcile, he makes it clear that he does not regret his decision to stay loyal to the crown.
His father’s reply is characteristically fervent. Ben Franklin tells his son, “There are natural duties that precede political ones and cannot be extinguished by them.” He tells his son that he can not forgive him for “taking up arms against me, in a cause wherein my good name, fortune and life were all at stake”. Unless William recants, his father is unwilling to reconcile.
And so, father and son—who for so long were so close—find a gulf between them that is far wider and deeper than the ocean that separates them. It is a rift that never heals. Ben Franklin goes to his grave without reconciling with his only son. He leaves almost nothing to William in his will, instead giving most of his estate to his daughter and son-in-law.
Ben and William each believed he was right and they simply couldn’t find a way to get beyond that.
Seven centuries before Christ, the prophet Isaiah predicted that the coming Messiah would be, among other things, the “Prince of Peace” (Isaiah 9:6). That’s nice. We like that title for Jesus—He is the Prince of Peace. And it’s an accurate title.
But in Matthew 10, Jesus tells his disciples, “I came not to send peace, but a sword.” (Matthew 10:34)
He goes on, “For I am come to set a man at variance against his father, and the daughter against her mother, and the daughter in law against her mother in law. And a man’s foes shall be they of his own household.” (Matthew 10:35-36)
Yes, Jesus brings peace to the hearts of those who know Him, He brings peace between enemies when they surrender to Him. But Jesus also brings division. It’s amazing how divisive the very name of Jesus can be.
Just ask Christians in the Middle East or in many countries across south Asia. Say you believe in Jesus Christ in many places and your family will view it as a personal betrayal. You may be shunned, disowned, or even murdered for daring to align with Jesus.
Ever since He came, Jesus has been splitting families apart. We don’t often like to talk about that side of Christianity, but Jesus was very clear about it with His followers.
In Luke 14, he tells the crowds following Him, “If any man come to me, and hate not his father, and mother, and wife, and children, and brethren, and sisters, yea, and his own life also, he cannot be my disciple.” (Luke 14:26)
This is not, of course, a call to hatred, but Jesus wants to be clear that following Him means a willingness to relinquish family ties. He goes on to talk about the principle of counting the cost. What is the cost of following Christ?
Jesus tells them, “whosoever he be of you that forsaketh not all that he hath, he cannot be my disciple.” (Luke 14:33)
Following Jesus doesn’t necessarily mean losing everything. It doesn’t necessarily mean turning your back on your family and friends, but it does mean that everything is on the table. If you’re following Jesus, that means Jesus comes first—before money, before possessions, before friends, and even before your closest family members.
That’s why so many believers the world over are willing to risk the rejection, hatred, and even violence of their families in order to live out their commitment to Jesus Christ. Chances are, you don’t have that same threat. But as you follow Christ, is everything on the table? You might not be called to give up your job or your house or your family for Christ… but are you willing to?
The idea of rebelling against the British crown because of the injustice wreaked on the colonies by King George III was a powerful idea. That idea did much to bring the people of the American colonies together, but it also drove people apart. It shattered, among others, the close relationship of one father and son named Ben and William Franklin.
What is it that you believe strongly enough that you would let it separate you from others—even your closest friends and family? Some beliefs are worth that. Others aren’t.
Even more powerful than the ideology behind the American Revolution is the truth that Jesus Christ is God in the flesh, the Savior of the world. Truth unites, but it also divides. Are you ready to stand for Christ, even if that means the fracturing of your closest relationships?
Jesus said, “He that loveth father or mother more than me is not worthy of me: and he that loveth son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me. And he that taketh not his cross, and followeth after me, is not worthy of me. He that findeth his life shall lose it: and he that loseth his life for my sake shall find it.” (Matthew 10:37-39)
What do you have to say to that?
Exempla 