I need you to bear with me today. I really don’t like the fact that there are people who just don’t seem to have any common sense. They are the ones who don’t want to think for themselves and even have a desire in life. They are easily sold a bill of goods that they have no desire to even think about whether it is a good deal or not.
Personally, I find it hard to believe, or maybe it’s that I don’t want to believe, that people are that clueless with little to no common sense and are willing to let someone else think for them. Now the problem for me is that I have little tolerance for people like that and it is important for me to remember that Jesus loves those people and so I need to, as well.
So it is not wrong to say that I am loving as Jesus would. Now, not being Jesus I am still frustrated and bothered by their actions and thoughts or lack thereof. Listen, I know I am not perfect and don’t profess to be, none of us are.
I have thought a lot about where things are and where they may be going. Now for the sake of this blog, I am going to be speaking most specifically about our nation. This weekend leads up to Memorial Day on Monday. On Sunday, I will be preaching a message entitled “God’s Call to Good Works”.
In John 15:13 Jesus said Greater love has no one than this, than to lay down one's life for his friends.
So we remember the sacrifice of those who gave their lives for our freedom. Their sacrifice provides you and I the opportunity each day to heed “God’s Call to Good Works”.
Memorial Day, when first established, was called Decoration Day. It was for the decorating of the graves of the fallen soldiers of the Civil War. It was a memorial for those who had paid the ultimate price for freedom.
Since its inception, Memorial Day has come to encompass all who have died in service to our nation. In the wars, we have fought, and even in the times when there was declared war, their service and thus their life were required to maintain our freedoms.
The sacrifice of their lives is the foundation of our freedom today. What was fought for and defended was so that the freedoms we enjoy and have would continue. That generations to follow would have and pass on to other generations. This is a cycle that must continue and we cannot become lulled into believing it can happen any other way.
Ronald Reagan said that-
”Freedom is never more than one generation away from extinction. We didn't pass it to our children in the bloodstream. It must be fought for, protected, and handed on for them to do the same.“
Can I get an Amen? Because of late, I have had a lot of thoughts regarding our nation and where we are and even headed in the future. Interestingly enough, I have in the past days heard others who are speaking of this subject. I sit here today reminded of the Cuban immigrant and the young lady from Venezuela who we have spoken to in the past. They came to these hallowed shores for the freedom they lost in their homelands. They came here because this is the only place on the planet with freedoms and opportunities.
Where would I go if this nation became Cuba or Venezuela? Both of these countries were prosperous and free countries until communist and tyrannical leaders gained control. This is not a blog on ideology or policies it is a blog about truth and fact. There is no place left if these United States fail to continue as the “land of the free and the home of the brave”.
I saw this over the last few days and it perfectly pictures what I am saying.
This is it and now is the time and today is the day to shout “no more”. No more will we allow the lunatics and the left to destroy our nation. No more will we have our freedoms lost and controlled by tyrants.
The preamble to our Constitution says-
”We the People of the United States, in Order to form a more perfect Union, establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defence, promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America.”
In order for this union to be more perfect we have to be tolerable of others. Lord knows I am trying but they certainly test my ability to do so. Remember I said earlier that-personally I find it hard to believe or maybe it’s that I don’t want to believe that people are as clueless with little to no common sense and are willing to let someone else think for them.
I grew up in the days of desegregation and it was the best time for me. I learned and experienced life as I had not known I would. Yet today we are becoming a segregated society or least some are trying to make it that way. I am able to tolerate anyone and anything. That is not a problem but I may not agree or choose to embrace their beliefs or reason.
So the issue we face as a nation is the same that others who have lost their freedoms. The loudest voice, I spoke about this recently, is the one that is allowed to make the decisions for the whole. We cannot be silenced and truth subjugated to obscurity.
The nation is big enough for different views and opinions. Believe what you will but you cannot force it on another. If you like the way California handles crime and and homeless, then move there. Don’t expect or try to make my home that place. Know I will do all I can to stop that from happening.
Now on a much more important matter. The line between what is happening around us and the Christian faith. Well, that can be a problem for some. It is not for me because I came to the realization years ago that I am first a Christian and a citizen second. What I do as a citizen is directed by who I am in Christ Jesus.
The world we live in today is drastically different than the one in which the church in Acts was formed. There is no doubt that what we learn from that beginning applies today. Paul said in 1 Timothy 2:2 to pray for …all who are in high positions, that we may lead a peaceful and quiet life, godly and dignified in every way.
There is certainly no implication we will agree or support their actions but regardless we are to pray for them. What God does or how they respond is not our concern, we must only do our part. You know, if you pause and consider this whole thought, you will come to the conclusion that we have a responsibility as Christians to exhibit Christ to a lost world. That is what we are doing because it is not about us being right but Christ being seen for who He is, a Savior.
If you notice, this all comes back to Jesus. That should always be the case with a believer. Everything comes back to Him. Our ultimate home is with Him for eternity with a new body in a new Heaven, on a new earth and in a new Jerusalem.
In God’s Grace,
Elbert Nasworthy
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