No matter what age we are, what part of the world we live in, what the color of our skin is, what our gender is, what the economic state of our families are, we all have one thing in common. We can all look back upon our lives and immediately feel the impact our fathers had upon our lives.
Even if you never knew your father, he still made an impact upon your life by his absence.
Fathers are never perfect. After all, they're human beings just like the rest of us. They make mistakes. They make bad decisions. They've hurt people - intentionally and unintentionally.
For the majority of us, we'd be content.......even pleased.....if we could look back upon our lives and see that - even within their imperfection - our fathers truly loved us, guided us, inspired us, protected us, and provided for us. We'd be pleased to know that they simply did their best for us.
Let's imagine for a moment that we grew up in a perfect home, with the perfect father. Let's assume that he never made a bad decision. Let's assume that he was always perfectly wise, kind, loving, protective, and generous. Let's assume he had wisdom that had no equal, that he remembered everything we'd ever said and done, every thought we'd ever had, and he knew in advance everything we would say or do in the future........where we would live......what we would do for a living......who we would meet.......who we would love.......where we would excel........where we would be strong......where we would be weak........where we would succeed, and where we would fail. He'd know what we were passionate about.........and where we were indifferent.
What if we took that one step further and imagined that he would sit down next to us whenever we asked him to, and if we sought his guidance on any issue we could possibly imagine, he would respond with the perfect answer and the perfect guidance every single time.
What if............with all of this available to us..........we chose to ignore him entirely? What if we took it one step further, even as far as insisting that nobody speak his name in public places? What if we hid our own children from him? What if we were so very opposed to the mere possibility of his existence, we spent the majority of our lives trying to explain away the stories we might hear others tell of him? What if we dismissed those who acknowledged him as being uneducated, foolish, weak, unreasonable, and incapable of having a rational thought?
What do you suppose his response would be?
This, my friends, is what America - through our courts, our government, our schools, our media, and many other American institutions - has done to our heavenly Father. The very same Father we used to turn to as a nation. The very same Father who grew us into the most powerful nation in world history.
And what have we seen as a result? We've become a nation that is completely divided against itself. We're raising generation after generation of disrespectful. angry, hostile, disillusioned children with no respect for authority, discipline, and no desire to hear of any God who might demand their respect. For many years now, we've been forced to elect political leaders who are completely incapable of leading. We were once seen as a shining city on a hill by the entire world...........We are now viewed by the world as confused, dangerous, and arrogant.........like a drunken, stumbling behemoth, staggering through the streets of the world, threatening anyone who would disagree with us.
So, where do we go from here? Do we give up?
As for me, the answer is no. Why? Because I still believe the truth behind the following verse:
"If my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and I will forgive their sin and will heal their land." - 2 Chronicles 7:14
Even as we've seen God being repeatedly shoved out of our society, there are still many of us who still believe that God is still God whether we choose to acknowledge Him or not. We still believe that He hears us. We still believe that He moves in ways far more powerful than we could possibly imagine.
Mock us if you must...........but before doing so, take a good look at where this country is heading. Do you like what you see? Before dismissing the thought that there is a God who can be called upon, consider your other options. Without some sort of divine intervention, what are your answers to where you see our country going?
I will continue to pray for this country, for it's leaders, and for it's people.........even for those who proudly boast that there is no God...........even for those who insult or condemn me for believing there is.......and yes, even for those who insist that my God has no place in their schools, their government, or their lives.
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