“Blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord, the people whom He has chosen for His own inheritance.” (rf. Ps. 33:12 NASB)
“If the foundations are destroyed, what can the righteous do?” (rf. Ps. 11:3 NASB)
I remember when I was 13 years old, my parents and I were heavily involved in the Bicentennial celebrations occurring in my hometown of Rockmart, Georgia. As we commemorated the 200th anniversary of our nation’s birth, stars and stripes were everywhere. We had patriotic music, fanfare, fireworks, costumes, etc. As I recall, our celebrations, as it did with most Americans, lasted at least a full week. The Bicentennial caused all of us to return to and review the historical realities of our founding. Not only did the celebration make us thankful that we were Americans, but it also reminded us of the values upon which our country was based.
Unfortunately, we have drifted far from our moorings. Our forefathers would be creating wind tunnels in their graves if they could see what we have done with the results of their blood, sweat and tears! They would be witnessing the complete undoing of all for which they had worked so diligently. They would weep at how we have created rights that were never existent and how we have so perverted the freedoms they cherished enough to enshrine in our founding documents.
Our only hope for the future as Americans is to corporately turn back to the Lord in full and total repentance for the sins our nation and its people have committed and for how we have so poorly stewarded the blessings He has showered upon us from day one. If such repentance and renewal of godly purpose is not forthcoming, we will have doomed ourselves to a solemn and destructive end. We will shortly tear ourselves apart as we continue to emphasize all that divides us and minimize/destroy the things that unite us. We will become as Esau who foolishly sold his birthright for a bowl of porridge, trading away the things that endure for the fleeting pleasures of the present.
May this repentance and renewal start with each of us. May we uphold God’s standard of righteousness in our own lives so that we can provide the example for others to follow. May our interactions with others be marked with love, compassion and understanding, rather than pursuing the course of division and hate. May we as believers in Christ shine the light of His Spirit in the dark places so others may be delivered from sin and unbelief.
The only and lasting hope of our nation is for Christians to be reflections of Him to a country that has completely lost its way. If we fail in this, then the American experiment in freedom will end miserably after only a mere two hundred and forty-seven year stint.
No comments:
Post a Comment