Perhaps you’ve heard the quip, “As soon as a person is born, he begins to die.” This phrase is generally used to indicate the fate of all living organisms; we come into this world destined to leave again, regardless of our best efforts to delay this inevitable eventuality. A recent advertisement states, “Statistics show that one out of one persons will die.” Of course, by the time these statements mean anything to us, a large percentage of us has already decided there are a large number of reasons for remaining here as long as possible.
I happen to believe a Creator put us here, and put in us a will to survive, so that we would be able to have a chance to find out He exists, and to find our way back to Him. So I also believe I have a home beyond this world, and therefore I can deal with the fact that some left-wing radicals are destroying everything I once held dear.
I know that the country I thought I was growing up in, was actually fading away before I was born. When I was studying history in high school, I mistakenly believed that the constitution I was learning about was still being followed very much according to the original intent. I think my teachers believed this as well. It’s kind of sad, really, because it’s like we were all living in a kind of fantasy world, destined to eventually be shaken awake to find that it was a pleasant dream, nothing more.
Looking back, I see that the cues I took from my parents and teachers about everything being so rosy and wonderful probably were coming from residual euphoria over survival and victory through WWII and Korea, which probably led many people to forget about the stuff that had been going on in the first third of the 20th century. Or maybe parents just thought they could shield their children indefinitely from reality.
Reality in our world means that if nothing is actively working to cause things to become more organized, things will become less organized. Buildings will begin to crumble, knee joints will become arthritic, and the generation that remembers why it was important to remain vigilant over our freedoms, begins to die off, without adequately passing on the motivation and determination of spirit that was necessary to keep those freedoms intact.
It’s been suggested that there may be a tipping point beyond which it will be impossible to return to a free, self-governing state in this country. I would suggest that, according to the bible, that fact is absolutely assured. So, am I concerned about the condition of the economy, and the state of our political system, and the trends in media and the arts, and of the social decline we’ve seen over the past several decades? My human side is, definitely. But there is another part of me that longs for the consummation of those things spoken of in God’s word, that will one day result in the end of things here on earth, and the creation of a new heaven and earth.
Progressives and secular humanists have long hoped to move us from a faith-based society to one where man is supreme, and God’s influence can finally be eliminated once and for all. Believers have watched for years as this has been happening, and have remained relatively silent, except for a few prophets and other activists willing to speak out against the trend toward removing all evidence of God from our social experience.
I hope we can save some vestige of our historic tradition in this country, of faith in God, and freedom to worship openly. this will give us the opportunity to share our faith with more people who can then find their way back to God. However, if we fail, perhaps this will be because the time has come to wrap things up. I would not be disappointed if that were true.
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