"Oh Say Can You See?" Well, Francis Scott Key, I'm sorry, I can no longer see very well. This great country, of the people, by the people, for the people, has lost her vision and is failing rapidly. I’m not sure you would like what you see.
On July 4th, throughout our entire country festivities took place celebrating our country’s independence. But just as our personal independence is being eroded, our country’s independence is also eroding. Our country barely resembles the free Republic our founders cherished and gave their all for.
This nation of freedom for all is no longer free. I’ve watched as the elitists have usurped individual freedom in the name of tolerance, social justice, rights and security. Freedoms on every level and affecting every aspect of lives are being usurped and our Constitution, the foundation that ensured the success and greatness of our free society is being misinterpreted and ignored. In fact, many of our leaders go so far as to say it is a “living constitution” that must evolve in order to meet the needs of a complex society that our Founders could not have envisioned or provided for.
I listened to a town hall style meeting discussing the state of our country, our freedom, and our founding. The questioned was asked, “How many are hopeful for the future of our country?” A majority raised their hands, as did all the junior congressmen present. I would have been among the number raising my hand declaring my belief that our country’s future is not promising.
Is this pessimism that I am not hopeful for our country?
The Pilgrims came seeking religious freedom; our Founding Fathers acknowledged our dependence on God and sought His guidance while laying the foundation which would enable our country to shine like a star to the rest of the world. This is the glory given by God to the nation who seeks Him and orders its steps according to God’s laws. We were that nation, we no longer are. Christians will stubbornly declare that we are a Christian nation, but the evidence is not present. The current President declared before the world, and more importantly, before God that the United States is not a Christian nation. And although the people of this country claim to be Christian, still about 80%, the laws we are passing and the standards we choose to order our country and our personal lives by do not reflect that.
As a nation we have turned our back on God, the Creator, and hence forfeited our right to His blessing and also secured His judgment. We have kicked Him out of our government and kicked Him out of our homes and even out of many of our churches. We have chosen to deny Him, His very existence and to deny His blessing. We are so bold as to think that our greatness is our own doing, but this is not so, as is evidenced by the moral and social decline that has resulted in the decline of our country. As we make personal decisions to lead our lives without God, our country has begun to govern in a manner reflecting moral decline in our personal lives and homes.
Many do not want to hear that God is a God who will judge. We always hear the Christian God is a God of love and so many often use this against Him. “God is love and therefore He would not judge.” And when we see His judgment on our country we deny that it could or would be from Him. We, as a nation, and we, many of us as individuals, have lost God’s blessing and positioned ourselves for His judgment. But God, the Creator, is truly a God of love. It is not His desire to pour out judgment, but His Word is clear. It is His desire that we would turn to Him and turn from our own ways. He entreats us to live righteous, just lives, seeking to serve others and to know and love Him. In Jeremiah 26:13 He pleads with us; “Now therefore, amend your ways and your doings, and obey the voice of the Lord your God; then the Lord will relent concerning the doom that He has pronounced against you.” This theme of a loving, righteous God longing to forgive, restore and relent of His judgment is repeated throughout the Bible.
It’s up to us, the choice is ours, the responsibility is ours. As an individual, as a family, as a church, as a nation what will we choose?