We remain a young nation, but in the words of Scripture, the time has come to set aside childish things. The time has come to reaffirm our enduring spirit; to choose our better history; to carry forward that precious gift, that noble idea, passed on from generation to generation: the God-given promise that all are equal, all are free, and all deserve a chance to pursue their full measure of happiness. - President Obama
The President is quoting albeit selectively from the Declaration of Independence:
"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."
The President is also quoting 1st Cor 13:11 "When I was a child, I spoke as a child, I understood as a child, I thought as a child. But, when I became a man, I put away the things of a child [set aside childish things]." Of course quoting Scripture calls for context, and in verse 10 we see the reason for putting aside childish things, "But when that which is perfect is come, that which is in part shall be done away." The heavenly things are perfect, the worldly things imperfect, or 'in part'. In the world "We see now through a glass in a dark manner: but then", in heaven, "we shall see face to face. Now I know in part: but then I shall know even as I am known."
Please continue to pray for our President, that he may see those not quite born not as a collection of cells but "face to face", that the President realize the biggest civil rights issue of the day is when does a human get human rights, and that the President also realize what the founding fathers clearly wrote, that these rights are God-given, not from men.
You also might ask that the President at least quote the Declaration of Independence completely and in context too, as a kind of secular prayer...
8 comments :
We are a secular nation with the free right for all people to follow what they believe, so long as it does not hamr others.
Let this new year find the healing we need to put away old fears for the sake of agape love. We are in the end brothers and sisters through our Lord and should be able to remember the inherent value of all people.
Peace and love to all that read here, may we approach all our disagreements with love in our hearts and faith that God will somehow find a way for things to work out for the best, through His will.
Very well said John Hosty-Grinnell.
While all people have an inherently good and positive value,
not all acts do. God has provided a way for all to work out for the best, let us approach this best with fear and trembling, Phil 2:12
Let us all try hard to look past our fears in order to see that inherent goodness in all people. It is that value for which Christ sacrificed himself, so that we might find it within ourselves and then share that kindness with others that they might find their light within.
When doing so it is important to remember that people work on their own schedule not ours, and the way to Christ might be longer for them than it is for us. We need to be patient with ourselves and others if we are to be a guiding light for others to find salvation. That discipline is difficult to maintain but well worth the effort given what is at stake.
In Peace and Love through Christ our Lord, amen.
And let us strive to remember the words of Our Lord Jesus Christ to the young man as recounted in Mark 10: 17-19: "As he was setting out on a journey, a man ran up, knelt down before him, and asked him, 'Good teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?' Jesus answered him, 'Why do you call me good? No one is good but God alone.'"
And let us also remember the words of the Holy Spirit as given through Saint Paul in Romans 6: 15-23:
"What then? Shall we sin because we are not under the law but under grace? Of course not! Do you not know that if you present yourselves to someone as obedient slaves, you are slaves of the one you obey, either of sin, which leads to death, or of obedience, which leads to righteousness? But thanks be to God that, although you were once slaves of sin, you have become obedient from the heart to the pattern of teaching to which you were entrusted. Freed from sin, you have become slaves of righteousness. I am speaking in human terms because of the weakness of your nature. For just as you presented the parts of your bodies as slaves to impurity and to lawlessness for lawlessness, so now present them as slaves to righteousness for sanctification. For when you were slaves of sin, you were free from righteousness. But what profit did you get then from the things of which you are now ashamed? For the end of those things is death. But now that you have been freed from sin and have become slaves of God, the benefit that you have leads to sanctification, and its end is eternal life. For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord."
Everyone should remember these most two important commandments Jesus gave to us. Mark 12:28-34 KJV states this:
And one of the scribes came, and having heard them reasoning together, and perceiving that he had answered them well, asked him, Which is the first commandment of all? And Jesus answered him, The first of all the commandments is, Hear, O Israel; The Lord our God is one Lord: And thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind, and with all thy strength: this is the first commandment. And the second is like, namely this, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. There is none other commandment greater than these. And the scribe said unto him, Well, Master, thou hast said th truth: for there is one God; and there is none other but he: And to love him with all the heart, and with all the understanding, and with all the soul, and with all the strength, and to love his neighbour as himself, is more than all whole burnt offerings and sacrifices. And when Jesus saw that he answered discreetly, he said unto him, Thou art not far from the kingdom of God. And no man after that durst ask him any question.
I think the most important messages Christ had for us can be verified within our own hearts through the awesome power of love.
While we struggle to understand what Christ wants of us let us at minimum show the respect He would have us show each other. There is much work that can be done together by people who oppose each other, even on important issues.
By suffering ourselves the company of those we disagree with we learn better how to solve our mutual issues, and it happens in a way Christ would approve of; through love.
I think it's more our pride than our fears that clouds our vision, as pride is disordered self-trust, something that might seduce us into seeking a light within ourselves instead of seeking the Light, as well as the Truth and the Way.
Post a Comment