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Maybe it’s election year overkill.
Perhaps the news ribbon running across my television screen
alerting me to every major crime and crisis in the world has
something to do with it. The current character of partisan
politics that seems to care more about who rules than what’s
right may be getting me down. Whatever the cause, I’ve had
it with national negatives. Please tell me something good
about America?
Remind me of that cold December day in
1620 when the Pilgrims, arriving from Scrooby Village in
England seeking religious freedom, came ashore at New
Plymouth; the able bodied ones kneeling in the snow and
giving thanks for their safe journey while those weakened by
sickness lay on pallets reciting Psalms and singing hymns.
Tell me about Thomas Jefferson, John
Adams, Benjamin Franklin, Roger Sherman and Robert
Livingston being appointed by the Continental Congress to
write the Declaration of Independence and recognizing their
responsibility as an assignment from God. “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.” they declared.
Describe President Lincoln at
Gettysburg, four score and seven years later, quoting that
statement at the end of the war fought to make equal rights
real to all Americans.
Rehearse for me the bloody battles of
World Wars I and II when Americans crossed the Atlantic
twice to make Europeans free, finally delivering them from
Hitler’s heel while at the same time liberating the South
Pacific. Introduce me to South Koreans who enjoy
freedom because of the sacrifices of
Americans who didn’t let them down. Let me hear about
Vietnamese Americans who now prosper in the land of the
free.
And tell me about the churches of
America where faith grows and prayer flows for the needy
here and around the world, for missionaries obeying their
Lord in carrying the good news of His grace and
demonstrating it to the sick, the troubled and the needy.
Build my faith with stories of rescue missions and prison
ministries that change lives every day through their message
of hope for those thought to be hopeless, people who were
chained by alcohol, drugs and despair but now are free.
Justin Webb, the BBC correspondent in
Washington D.C., as quoted in the August edition of
Christianity Today, says neither he nor his wife believe in
God and in their former posts never talked about God to
neighbors but found the average American entirely
different. In his words: “I’m talking about Mr. and Mrs.
Average in Normal Town, U.S.A. Mr. and Mrs. Average share
an uncomplicated faith with its roots in the Puritanism of
their forbears.”
How has this affected Mr. Webb? He
says, “I’ll tell you I’m awed. I’m impressed and awed by
Christians in America who in facing unexpected tragedies
turn to God.”
Does America have problems?
Certainly! But I’m hearing you say God can handle them all
so there’s no need to ring our hands and focus on our
faults. We can focus on our faith, lifting our prayers to
God and expecting Him to revive and refresh us.
Thanks! I needed that.
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